CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Forests

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether her Department plans to contribute to the Government's response to the final report of the Independent Panel on Forestry, published in July 2012, regarding the role of forests in tourism and culture.

Hugh Robertson: holding answer 5 September 2012
	The Department for Culture, Media and Sport will give consideration to this report and will offer input, as necessary or appropriate.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of the potential effect on tourism in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty of the High Speed Rail 2 project; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment she has made of the potential effect on the attractiveness of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty as a tourist destination of the High Speed Rail 2 project; and if she will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: No specific assessment has been made in respect of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, although my Department, along with English Heritage, has been involved with the HS2 scheme, inputting into the policy development at various stages and providing cross-Government clearance as appropriate. As the scheme develops the Department will continue to provide advice and ensure the views of the tourism and heritage sectors are taken into account, including through the associated Environmental Impact Assessment.

Internet: Warrington

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the number of (a) people and (b) households in each council ward in Warrington who do not have access to the internet.

Edward Vaizey: Data are not available at that level of geographic detail.
	All households with a fixed telephone line are able to access dial-up internet. Almost all households in Warrington should be able to access the internet through fixed broadband and mobile services. Warrington borough council and its partners in the Connecting Cheshire project are in the process of identifying broadband notspots and slowspots, as part of their participation in the Broadband Delivery UK rural programme and the Universal Service Commitment to make basic broadband available at speeds of at least 2Mbit/s.
	Ofcom's Communications Infrastructure Report published in 2011 suggested that 16.7% of broadband connections in Warrington were not achieving speeds of 2Mbit/s or more and that take-up was 70%:
	http://maps.ofcom.org.uk/broadband/

Local Broadcasting: Wales

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what her policy is on the introduction of local television in Wales.

Edward Vaizey: Ofcom is currently assessing bids and will start awarding the first local TV licences shortly.

Olympic Games 2012

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what evaluation she plans to make of the effectiveness of the implementation of the sustainability programme for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Hugh Robertson: Reports have been published regularly setting out the achievements of the London 2012 Games sustainability programme. Highlights reported in the Pre-Games report (April 2012) include: more than 98% of demolition waste and 99% of construction waste reused or recycled against a target of 90%; 67% of materials transported by rail or water against a target of 50%; an Olympic Stadium which is the most sustainable example ever; and 14 million sustainably sourced meals to be served during the Games.
	http://www.london2012.com/about-us/publications/publication=pre-games-sustainability-report/
	In addition, the Commission for a Sustainable London 2012 (CSL), the independent London 2012 sustainability assurers, have been conducting an ongoing evaluation of the programme. On 10 August 2012, the Commission published a positive pre-Games opinion on whether the London 2012 Games would live up to an expectation as 'the greenest games ever' highlighting the many sustainability commitments met or exceeded, and expressing optimism about the development of East London as a destination for businesses, new communities, investors and tourists. The Government are also conducting a Meta-Evaluation study which will provide an assessment of the impacts and legacy of the Games, including sustainability. An interim report will be published in October with a final report published by summer 2013.

Olympic Games 2012

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials from her Department used the Olympic Route Network for travel for official purposes during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games.

Hugh Robertson: The Department will publish details of Government use of tickets and hospitality in the autumn; this will include use of transport services which operated on the Olympic or Paralympic route networks.

Olympic Games 2012

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether she plans to refund the funding taken from the Big Lottery Fund for the London 2012 Olympics.

Hugh Robertson: The commitment to reimburse the National Lottery for its contribution of £675 million to the public sector funding package for the London 2012 Olympic games is enshrined in a contractual agreement between the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and the Greater London Authority.
	The lottery distributors, including the Big Lottery Fund, will be reimbursed pro rata to their contribution to the £675 million from the receipts from the sale of land in the Olympic Park in the years after the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games.

Olympic Games 2012

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much of the London 2012 Olympics (a) budget and (b) contingency fund was unspent.

Hugh Robertson: The latest published figures on the public sector funding package for the London 2012 games were announced to Parliament on 13 June 2012. The announcement, which coincided with the publication of the Department's latest quarterly report on the games, showed that £476 million of the £9.3 billion budget remained uncommitted. This comprised £88 million uncommitted contingency held by the Olympic Delivery Authority, and £388 million uncommitted contingency held by central Government. We will be publishing updated figures, covering the period to the end of the games, in our next quarterly report later this autumn.

Olympic Games 2012

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if she will publish a timetable for sale of the London 2012 Olympic assets.

Hugh Robertson: The sale of Olympic assets is being handled largely by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), a private company independent of Government responsible for staging the games themselves, and the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), the non-departmental public body responsible for the construction of the venues and infrastructure. Both organisations are making good progress in obtaining best value for assets.
	Wherever possible LOCOG has hired equipment and facilities, as this offered the best value for money, the most sustainable solution, and avoided the need for sale. The ODA will transfer the majority of their assets to the London Legacy Development Corporation. In addition, the Olympic Village accommodation has been sold partly to Triathlon Homes for affordable housing, yielding a receipt of £268 million, and to a joint venture of Qatari Diar and Delancey for private housing, with a receipt of £557 million due in 2014.

Procurement

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what her Department's policy is on taking into account when assessing tenders submitted for departmental contracts the (a) apprenticeship schemes, (b) policies on employment of paid interns and (c) policies of payment of at least the living wage of each bidding company.

Hugh Robertson: My Department's policy is to assess tenders in line with the Government Procurement Guidance, which may take into account, depending upon the nature of what is being procured, the areas highlighted in this question.

Rugby: Honours

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what information her Department holds on the (a) number and (b) level of honours awarded for services to Rugby League in the last 30 years.

Hugh Robertson: A list of honours recipients from the sport of Rugby League, since 1996, can be found in the following table. The Department does not hold records of honours recipients before this time. However, lists of honours and awards are published in the London Gazette (LG), the official newspaper of record for the UK. Searches can be carried out on LG's website for honours and awards prior to 1996, at:
	http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/
	
		
			 List Award Name Citation 
			 NY1996 OBE Shaun Edwards For services to Rugby League 
			 BD1996 OBE Harry Jepson For services to Rugby League 
			 NY1997 MBE Martin Offiah For services to Rugby League 
			 NY1999 OBE Alexander James Murphy For services to Rugby League 
			 BD2004 MBE Harold Swift For services to Amateur Rugby League in St Helens, Lancashire 
			 NY2005 OBE Andrew Farrell Wigan and Great Britain Rugby Captain. For services to Rugby League 
			 NY2006 MBE John William Whiteley For services to Rugby League and to the community in Hull and East Yorkshire 
			 BD2007 MBE Kristian Radlinski Lately Captain, Wigan Warriors. For services to Rugby League 
			 BD2009 MBE Ms Hilary Vera Steel For voluntary service to Rugby League in the north-west 
			 NY2010 MBE Stephen Prescott For services to Rugby League and to charity 
			 NY2011 MBE Raymond James French For services to Rugby League 
			 BD2011 MBE Thomas Sale For voluntary service to Rugby League in Leigh, Lancashire 
			 NY2012 OBE Augustus Beverley Walter Risman For services to Rugby League 
		
	
	
		
			 NY2012 MBE James Darryl Peacock England Rugby League Captain and Leeds Rhinos Prop Forward. For services to Rugby League 
			 BD2012 BEM Colin Handforth For services to Amateur Rugby League

S4C

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether she plans to devolve responsibility for S4C to the Welsh Government.

Edward Vaizey: The Department has no plans to devolve responsibility for S4C to the Welsh Government. The Government are committed to a long-term, sustainable future for S4C and Welsh language programming and this is best served by maintaining the reserved status of broadcasting. Having broadcasting as a reserved matter is the most effective way of maintaining national standards and securing broadcasters' independence.

DEFENCE

Air Force: Training

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many hours of training were required for those flying (a) fast jets, (b) transport aircraft and (c) helicopters in the Royal Air Force in each year since 2008.

Andrew Robathan: The information on training hours is not held centrally in the format requested.
	For flying hours, there is no specific number of hours that a student must fly in order to qualify, rather it is a combination of hours flown and objectives achieved. Some pilots will require more flying hours than others to achieve the required standards.
	All pilots complete Elementary Flying Training which requires approximately 55 flying hours per student. Follow-on training varies according to aircraft type and typically involves some 220 hours for fast jets (in two stages), 75 hours for multi-engine aircraft and 75-85 hours for helicopters. Additionally, pilots undergo operational conversion training before joining front line units. This varies considerably depending on both the specific aircraft concerned and the pilots' progress.
	Training does not cease after pilots have completed their formal training but continues throughout their flying careers, because all operational flying includes an element of training.

Armed Forces

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) cost and (b) establishment by numbers is of (i) Land Command, (ii) Navy Command and (iii) Air Command for (A) 2011-12 and (B) 2012-13.

Mark Francois: Ministry of Defence expenditure information for financial year 2011-12 is currently subject to audit. The overall cost of staff in future years is reflected in the Departmental Expenditure Limits amounts set out in HM Treasury's Spending Review 2010 document, CM7942 (pages 57-58).
	Staff numbers for the beginning of 2011-12 and 2012-13 are shown in the following table. These include trained and untrained UK regulars, Gurkhas, full-time Reserve Service personnel and civilians, including Royal Fleet Auxiliary. Significant organisational changes that affect the numbers have taken place during the period concerned.
	
		
			 Personnel strength Land command Navy command Air command 
			 1 April 2011 125,960 37,470 41,640 
			 1 April 2012 115,960 34,890 37,740

Armed Forces: Career Development

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average time spent in the rank at which a person enters the (a) Army, (b) Royal Air Force and (c) Royal Navy is before achieving promotion.

Mark Francois: The information held is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Service Rank Time (years) Remarks 
			 Royal Navy Officer 2.9 To attain Sub Lieutenant from Midshipman 
			  Other Ranks 6.8 To attain Leading Hand (RN), or Lance Corporal (RM) from Rating/Marine 
			     
			 Army Officer (1)11 months To attain 2nd Lieutenant from Officer Cadet 
			  Other Ranks 4.7 To attain substantive Lance Corporal from Private 
			     
			 Royal Air Force Officer 6.85 To attain substantive Flight Lieutenant from Officer Cadet 
			  Non Commissioned Aircrew 15.25 To attain substantive Flight Sergeant from Sergeant (entry level) 
			  Ground Trades Other Ranks 9 To attain substantive Corporal from Senior Aircraftman 
			 (1 )Army Officers are commissioned upon completion of training at Sandhurst (11 months unless back squadded, for example due to injury). Upon commissioning, they are automatically promoted from Officer Cadet. 
		
	
	The time spent in the rank at which a person enters the armed services before achieving the first promotion varies greatly. For example, in the RAF, the junior enlisted rank structure has a greater number than the other services, of ranks that must be passed through before competing for the rank of Lance Corporal/Corporal. The table therefore provides the average time for promotion to junior non-commissioned officer in each of the services.
	There are many different avenues for entry as a commissioned officer into each of the services. Graduates are commissioned earlier than non-graduates and receive additional seniority based on previously acquired skills leading to many variations in time to promotion. The information on average time should be read in that light.

Armed Forces: Deployment

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many deployments of UK military personnel have been on the basis of a UN resolution in the last five years; what the cost of those deployments was to date; and what funds the UN contributed financially towards the cost of such deployments.

Andrew Robathan: Over the last five years, the UK has deployed personnel on numerous United Nations-led missions and as part of international coalitions in support of United Nations Security Council Resolutions. These deployments are shown in the following tables:
	
		
			 Table 1: Deployments in support of a UN-led mission 
			 Country Duration over the last five years 
			 Afghanistan (UNAMA) 2008-09 and 2010-11 
			 Cyprus (UNFICYP) 2007 to present (ongoing) 
			 Darfur (UNAMID) 2008 to 2009-10 
			 Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC/MONUSCO) 2007 to present (ongoing) 
			 Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) 2008 only 
			 Georgia (UNOMIG) 2007 to 2009-10 
			 Iraq (UNAMI) 2007 to 2011 
			 Kenya (UNPOS) 2007 to present (ongoing) 
			 Kosovo (UNMIK) 2007 to 2008-09 
			 Liberia (UNMIL) 2007 to 2009-10 
			 Nepal (UNMIN) 2007 to 2008-09 
			 Sierra Leone (UNIPSIL) 2007 to 2008-09 
			 Sudan (UNMIS) March 2007 to 2011 
			 South Sudan (UNMISS) July 2011 to present (ongoing) 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Deployments in support of a UN Resolution as part of an international coalition 
			 Country/issue Duration over the last five years 
			 Afghanistan 2007 to present (ongoing) 
			 Chad (EUFOR TCHAD/RCA) 2007 to 2009 
			 Counter Piracy (ATALANTA, CTF 151, Ocean Shield) 2007 to present (ongoing) 
			 Iraq 2007 to 2009 
			 Kosovo (KFOR) 2007 to present (ongoing) 
			 Libya 2011 only 
			 Somalia in support of AMISOM May 2012 to present (ongoing) 
		
	
	It has not been possible to collate the financial cost of each of these missions in each of the last five financial years. The information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The United Nations provides a partial reimbursement to the UK for its contribution to UN-led missions, and this is in accordance with standard UN reimbursement rates. The UN does not provide a reimbursement for coalition operations conducted on the basis of a UN Security Council Resolution. In financial year 2011-12 the UK Government received £1.274 million reimbursement from the UN.

Armed Forces: Deployment

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list all the operations on which UK forces have served alongside the forces of other European nations in the last five years; and which countries participated in each case.

Andrew Robathan: The Ministry of Defence does not hold centrally information regarding which European nations have been deployed on operations alongside UK forces in the past five years. My officials will engage with the EU and NATO to collate the necessary information and I will write to the hon. Member once the information has been collated.

Armed Forces: Officers

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many infantry officers left the army within two years of commanding their regiments in the latest period for which figures are available.

Andrew Robathan: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Recruitment

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much funding in each category of expenditure was allocated to the (a) RAF, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Army for recruitment purposes in (i) 2011-12 and (ii) 2012-13.

Mark Francois: The information available for expenditure for recruitment purposes is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 £ million 
			  Services 
			 Financial year Royal Navy Army RAF 
			 2011-12 2.8 7.507 6.016 
			 2012-13 (1)6.6 (2)5.281 4.853 
			 (1) The figure for 2012-13 contains forecast expenditure of £1.9 million for a campaign which has yet to be submitted to the Efficiency Reform Group for approval. (2) Actual and forecast costs to end September 2012. From 1 October 2012, as a result of the implementation of the Recruiting Partnering Project, marketing will rest with the commercial partner (Capita) who will determine their own marketing strategy to meet the recruiting targets set within the contract.

Armed Forces: Redundancy

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  whether his Department considered making members of the armed forces who had been prepared, deployed on and recovered from operations with operational allowance earnings exempt from redundancy decisions in Tranche 2;
	(2)  whether he gave consideration to exemption from redundancy in Tranche 2 of the Armed Forces Redundancy Programme to those members of the armed forces who had prepared for, been deployed on and recovered from operations with operational allowance earnings;
	(3)  whether members of the armed forces who had been prepared for, deployed on and recovered from operations with operational allowance earnings were considered for exemption from redundancy decisions in Tranche 2.

Mark Francois: holding answer 4 September 2012
	No. We have repeatedly assured the House that all of those in receipt of operational allowance on the date the redundancy notifications are made are exempt from selection, unless they have applied to be considered for redundancy. Similarly, all those preparing for, or recovering from such an operation are exempt, unless they have volunteered.

Armed Forces: Redundancy

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the armed forces made redundant in Tranche 2 of the Armed Forces Redundancy Programme 
	(1)  were within (a) one month, (b) two to three months, (c) three to four months, (d) four to five months and (e) five or more months of receiving their pension;
	(2)  were within (a) one, (b) two to three, (c) three to four, (d) four to five and (e) five or more months of receiving their pension;
	(3)  were within (a) one, (b) two to three, (c) three to four, (d) four to five and (e) five or more months of receiving a pension.

Mark Francois: holding answer 6 September 2012
	The proximity of a retirement point is not a consideration when selecting individuals for redundancy. As we reduce the size of the armed forces, our priority is to ensure that they maintain the correct balance of the skills and experience, across the rank structures, which are required to deliver operational capability now and in the future, and it is this which has determined the redundancy fields.
	The Ministry of Defence has worked hard to ensure that many more individuals have received an immediate income for which they otherwise would not have qualified. Only 1.2% of individuals who have been selected for redundancy are within one year of qualifying for their immediate pension. These personnel will receive a significantly larger tax free sum, which could total over £100,000, and still get all their accrued pension rights at the age of 60 or 65.
	The following table lists the total number of personnel selected for redundancy with an exit date of 30, 60, 90, 120 and 150 or more days earlier than an immediate retirement point:
	
		
			 Number of days, on discharge, prior to an immediate pension point Total 
			 30 6 
			 60 4 
			 90 9 
			 120 0 
			 150 or more 2,624

Chiefs of Staff

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how much the Chief of the Defence Staff has spent on (a) his private office and (b) staff costs in the last 12 months, by category of expenditure;
	(2)  how much the Vice Chief of the Defence Staff has spent on (a) his private office and (b) staff costs in the last 12 months, by category of expenditure;
	(3)  how much the First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff has spent on (a) his private office and (b) staff costs in the last 12 months, by category of expenditure;
	(4)  how much the Chief of the General Staff has spent on (a) his private office and (b) staff costs in the last 12 months, by category of expenditure;
	(5)  how much the Chief of the Air Staff has spent on (a) his private office and (b) staff costs in the last 12 months, by category of expenditure.

Mark Francois: Regarding the sizes of private offices, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), on 18 January 2012, Official Report, column 825W.
	The estimated cost of staff employed in the private offices of the Service Chiefs in financial year (FY) 2011-12 was £2.10 million. This includes costs for the office of the second permanent secretary who shared a private office with the Vice Chief of the Defence Staff during the period. This figure does not include costs for some support staff which are provided from other teams.
	The costs of household staff supporting Chief of the Defence Staff, Vice Chief of the Defence Staff and the Service Chiefs are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  £ 
			  Cost of household staff 
			 Post 2010-11 2009-10 
			 Chief of the Defence Staff 67,000 128,000 
			 Vice Chief of the Defence Staff 54,000 51,000 
			 First Sea Lord/Chief of the Naval Staff 97,000 161,000 
			 Chief of the General Staff 67,000 161,000 
			 Chief of the Air Staff 116,000 97,000 
		
	
	The figures for FY 2011-12 are still being compiled. The figures do not include drivers.

Correspondence

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average time taken was by his Department to reply to correspondence from hon. Members and Peers in the last 12 months; and for what proportion of letters the time taken to send a response was longer than (a) one month, (b) six weeks, (c) two months, (d) three months and (e) six months in that period.

Mark Francois: Information on the average time taken is not available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The Ministry of Defence (MOD) received 5,342 items of correspondence which received a ministerial response between 1 August 2011 and 31 July 2012, of which 4,921 items (92%) were answered in 20 working days and 5,117 items (95%) were answered within 30 working days. The other information requested is not held.
	The MOD's database only provides statistics for responses to MPs, Peers and members of the public to whom Ministers have written. The following figures therefore include all correspondence which has received a ministerial response. The Cabinet Office, on an annual basis, publishes a report to Parliament on the performance of Departments in replying to correspondence from MPs and Peers. The report for 2011 was published on 15 March 2012, Official Report, columns 31-33WS.

Defence Equipment

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what the planned in-service date for the LABYRINTH communication system was; and when he expects it to be in service;
	(2)  when the LABYRINTH communication system will reach its contracted functionality;
	(3)  what penalties are applied through the contract with ATLAS for the late delivery of the LABYRINTH communication system; and whether any such penalty has been incurred to date;
	(4)  what the original projected cost of the LABYRINTH communication system was; and what the current projected cost is.

Philip Dunne: The in-service date for any IT project procured by the Ministry of Defence is the date the customer commences use of live data in support of the business. At contract award for LABYRINTH in January 2009, the planned in-service date was September 2010. As a result of a number of changes to incorporate additional, but essential, technical capability, the LABYRINTH system was rolled out in the UK in June 2012.
	Contracted functionality will be achieved on the successful delivery of incremental capability upgrades that commenced in June 2012. Full contracted functionality is currently planned to be delivered in February 2014.
	As is normal for defence contracts, there are a number of mechanisms and levers available that may be applied when contractual delays occur, the use of which are dependent upon the cause and severity of delay. In this case, the contractor has made appropriate financial redress in accordance with the provisions of the contract.
	I am withholding information on costs for the LABYRINTH communication system as its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice commercial interests. However, I can confirm that the project will deliver within approved budgets, and that cost increase since contract award resulting from the need to incorporate essential technical capability additions is less than 9%.

Iran

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has had discussions with his US counterpart on military action in Iran.

Philip Hammond: holding answer 12 September 2012
	I regularly discuss a range of security issues with my United States counterparts; however the UK continues to work with the US and other countries to achieve a diplomatic solution to Iran's nuclear ambitions.
	I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), on 20 February 2012, Official Report, column 654, in which he said that we wish to see a peaceful, negotiated diplomatic settlement to the Iranian nuclear crisis, by which Iran gives the world confidence that it is not developing and will not develop nuclear weapons. All our efforts are devoted towards such a peaceful resolution through a twin track strategy of engagement and pressure, although we are clear that all options for addressing the issue remain on the table.

Libya

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many Libyan armed forces personnel of each rank were trained by the UK armed forces in each of the last 10 years; where such training took place; and what the duration was of such training;
	(2)  what training his Department gave to Libyan armed forces personnel in each of the last 10 years.

Andrew Robathan: The Ministry of Defence has a long tradition of providing defence education to international military personnel at its training establishments throughout the United Kingdom.
	All overseas requests for defence training are considered on a case-by-case basis and it would not be provided if we thought such training would lead to human rights abuses. Providing defence training and education to overseas armed forces personnel at the same high standards used by UK armed forces helps build professionalism, accountability and raises awareness of human rights. It also helps build stability overseas as part of the Government's wider foreign policy goals.
	The following table lists Libyan personnel who have received military education and training from the UK since 2005, when centralised records were introduced:
	
		
			 Date Course Location Rank 
			 2005    
			 January to December Royal College of Defence Studies Seaford House, London Colonel 
			 3 May to 10 June English for Advanced Command and Staff Course Phase 1 Defence School of Languages Colonel 
			 13 June to 21 July English for Advanced Command and Staff Course Phase 2 Defence School of Languages Colonel 
			 8 August to 21 July Advanced Command and Staff Course Joint Command and Staff College Colonel 
			 1 September to 12 August MSc in Managing Defence in a Democracy Cranfield University, Shrivenham 2 x Lieutenant Colonel 
			     
			 2006    
			 January to March British Military English York St John University First Lieutenant 
		
	
	
		
			 30 October to 10 November International Border Security and Management Briefing HQ Land Warfare Centre 3 x Colonel Lieutenant Colonel 
			    2 x Major 
			     
			 2007    
			 19 February to 14 December General English York St John University Staff Sergeant 
			    1 Lieutenant 
			    Corporal 
			    Captain 
			 3 April to 21 December General English York St John University 4 x civilian 
			    6 x Lieutenant 
			 29 October to 22 February British Military English Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth 1 Lieutenant 
			     
			 2008    
			 25 February to 24 October RN Young Officer Course Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth 1 Lieutenant 
			     
			 2009    
			 4 January to 11 December Army Commissioning Course Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Officer Cadet 
			 5 January to 26 April British Military English Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth 1 Lieutenant 
			     
			 2011    
			 — English language De Montfort University 2 x Officer Cadet 
			     
			 2012    
			 12 March to 27 April Managing Defence in the Wider Security Context Defence Academy—Shrivenham 2 x Colonel 
			 18 March to 22 March EEZ Management Course Held in Cairo 2 x Commander 
			 1 April to 15 May English language training Janzour Naval Academy—Libya 14 x Lieutenant Colonels 
			 30 April to 4 May EEZ Management Course Held in Malta 2 x Commander 
			    Lieutenant 
			 11 June to 6 July EEZ Protection Officers Course HMS Collingwood Lieutenant 
			    Commandeer 
			    Lieutenant 
		
	
	
		
			 10 September 2012 to 19 April 2013 RN Young Officer Course Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth 2 x Officer Cadet 
			 20 September 2012 to 20 September 2013 Bespoke English language training course De Montfort University 6 x non-commissioned

Libya

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of training Libyan armed forces personnel in each of the last 10 years.

Andrew Robathan: The Ministry of Defence has a long tradition of providing defence education to international military personnel at its training establishments throughout the United Kingdom. Since 2005, when centralised records were introduced, the cost to the defence budget and to tri-departmental conflict pool funds of such training for Libya has been £640,000.
	All overseas requests for defence training are considered on a case-by-case basis and it would not be provided if we thought such training would lead to human rights abuses. Providing defence training and education to overseas armed forces personnel at the same high standards used by UK armed forces helps build professionalism, accountability and raises awareness of human rights. It also helps build stability overseas as part of the Government's wider foreign policy goals.

Libya

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether any Libyan armed forces personnel being trained in the UK have claimed political asylum in the last 10 years.

Mark Harper: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Home Department.
	The UK Border Agency cannot comment on individual asylum cases, however all asylum applications are considered on their individual merits in accordance with our obligations under the 1951 UN Refugee Convention.

Military Bases

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the annual cost in each category of expenditure is of (a) RAF Leuchars, (b) HMNB Clyde, (c) RM Condor, (d) Headquarters 2nd Division, (e) Headquarters 51 Brigade, (f) Redford Barracks, (g) Dreghorn Barracks, (h) RAF Kinloss and (i) Fort George barracks.

Mark Francois: The cost in financial year 2011-12 by category of expenditure is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 £ million 
			  RAF Leuchars HMNB Clyde RM Condor Headquarters 2nd Division Headquarters 51 Brigade Redford Barracks Dreghorn Barracks RAF Kinloss Fort George Barracks 
			 Personnel 41.9 39.0 26.3 5.9 2.8 — — 37.4 — 
			 Infrastructure 9.2 5.3 5.6 0.8 0.4 2.1 1.3 7.6 0.7 
			 Other 11.0 241.0 0.4 2.7 0.5 0.2 0.2 1.1 0.2 
		
	
	
		
			 Total 62.1 285.3 32.3 9.4 3.7 2.3 1.5 46.1 0.9 
			 Note: Numbers are rounded to the nearest £0.1 million. 
		
	
	The personnel costs of Redford Barracks, Dreghorn Barracks and Fort George Barracks are included in the costs of Headquarters 2nd Division.
	Headquarters 2nd Division, Redford Barracks, Dreghorn Barracks, Fort George Barracks and Headquarters 51 Brigade are covered by a single contract for utilities and other services. The cost of this contract cannot be broken down by site, but the total value is around £9 million per year. This figure is not included in the table.
	The costs of providing Service Family Accommodation cannot be attributed to each location individually as they are managed by region. The total cost of providing accommodation in Scotland is around £15 million per year.

Military Bases

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the parliamentary constituency is of each (a) base, (b) garrison and (c) barracks of each of the armed services in (i) England, (ii) Wales, (iii) Northern Ireland and (iv) Scotland.

Mark Francois: Updated information on all Ministry of Defence establishments by parliamentary constituency has been placed in the Library of the House.

Public Expenditure

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has saved as a result of non-front line costs savings in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and how much he estimates his Department will save in (i) 2012-13, (ii) 2013-14 and (iii) 2014-15.

Philip Hammond: holding answer 17 July 2012
	The Ministry of Defence has committed to saving £4.3 billion in non-front line savings over the spending review period. This commitment formed part of the spending review conducted in autumn of 2010. The measures that would deliver these savings were decided in the Strategic Defence and Security Review, with further savings being identified in Planning Round 12. Measures were therefore not tracked until 2011-12.
	Forecast savings are:
	
		
			  £ million 
			 2011-12 340 
			 2012-13 700 
			 2013-14 1,310 
			 2014-15 2,050 
			 Total 4,400 
		
	
	Figures are rounded to the nearest £10 million. Outturn figures for 2011-12 will not be available until the annual accounts are finalised. Figures for the remaining years may change as a result of decisions made in future planning rounds and within individual commands.

Scotland

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what date he last had a bilateral meeting with the Secretary of State for Scotland; and what matters were discussed.

Philip Hammond: The Secretary of State for Scotland and I meet regularly to discuss a range of topics.

Sergeant Major Adamson

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the death of Sergeant Major Adamson by accidental discharge in May 1972 and subsequent inquest in June 2011, if he will review the legislation that precludes any payment to relatives in such circumstances.

Mark Francois: holding answer 10 September 2012
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my predecessor, my right hon. Friend the Member for South Leicestershire (Mr Robathan), on 26 October 2011, Official Report, columns 257-58W, in which he stated that prior to May 1987, service personnel (or their dependants in the case of a fatality) were prevented from pursuing claims for compensation from the Ministry of Defence (MOD) by section 10 of the Crown Proceedings Act 1947. Section 10 was repealed by the Crown Proceedings (Armed Forces) Act 1987.
	When the House debated the repeal of section 10, the question of retrospection was considered and motions to allow all past and present members of the armed forces or their dependants to pursue compensation claims for injury or death were moved: however, they were defeated or withdrawn. The view then, as it is now, was that there was no logical point at which to draw a line, short of trying to cover all types of injury, and this would create more examples of unfairness and injustice.
	This position was subsequently challenged on the basis that section 10 of the Crown Proceedings Act 1947 is incompatible with the European convention on human rights. The Law Lords heard the matter on 13 and 14 January 2003 and a unanimous judgment was handed down on 13 February 2003 in favour of the MOD. The MOD's position concerning the payment of claims predating the repeal of section 10 of the Crown Proceedings Act remains unchanged.
	There is no plan to review this legislation.

Service Personnel and Veterans Agency

Jesse Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many telephone calls were handled by the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency in each of the most recent 24 months for which figures are available.

Mark Francois: The number of telephone calls handled by the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency, including regular service personnel calls to the Joint Personnel Administration Centre (JPAC), and veterans’ calls to the Veterans Welfare Service and helpline, in each month from 1 September 2010 to 31 August 2012 for which records are available, is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Number of calls received 
			 2010  
			 September 65,602 
			 October 58,085 
			 November 65,174 
			 December 42,535 
			   
			 2011  
			 January 70,007 
			 February 56,449 
			 March 63,221 
			 April 50,154 
			 May 55,108 
			 June 58,658 
			 July 51,573 
			 August 52,307 
			 September 56,566 
			 October 55,319 
			 November 60,912 
			 December 40,906 
			   
			 2012  
			 January 63,240 
			 February 56,070 
			 March 58,843 
			 April 51,435 
			 May 60,149 
			 June 48,962 
			 July 54,739 
			 August 49,118 
			 Total 1,345,132

Service Personnel and Veterans Agency

Jesse Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many complaints his Department received on the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency in each of the last 24 months for which figures are available.

Mark Francois: The number of complaints received by the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency (SPVA) between 1 September 2010 and 31 August 2012 for which figures are available was 2,330. A breakdown of this figure is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Complaints Received 
			 September 2010 89 
			 October 2010 98 
			 November 2010 77 
			 December 2010 55 
			 January 2011 129 
			 February 2011 107 
			 March 2011 106 
			 April 2011 86 
			 May 2011 94 
		
	
	
		
			 June 2011 88 
			 July 2011 134 
			 August 2011 127 
			 September 2011 103 
			 October 2011 105 
			 November 2011 85 
			 December 2011 70 
			 January 2012 98 
			 February 2012 88 
			 March 2012 109 
			 April 2012 95 
			 May 2012 116 
			 June 2012 99 
			 July 2012 90 
			 August 2012 82 
			 Total 2,330

Service Personnel and Veterans Agency

Jesse Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of calls to the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency were successfully answered in each of the last 24 months for which figures are available.

Mark Francois: The proportion of calls to the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency which were answered successfully between 1 September 2010 and 31 August 2012 for which figures are available was 1,165,480. A breakdown of this figure is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Number of calls 
			 September 2010 58,232 
			 October 2010 51,573 
			 November 2010 58,094 
			 December 2010 38,386 
			 January 2011 62,405 
			 February 2011 49,843 
			 March 2011 56,153 
			 April 2011 45,016 
			 May 2011 48,717 
			 June 2011 51,772 
			 July 2011 45,650 
			 August 2011 46,215 
			 September 2011 49,613 
			 October 2011 46,760 
			 November 2011 51,609 
			 December 2011 35,353 
			 January 2012 53,012 
			 February 2012 46,805 
			 March 2012 48,805 
			 April 2012 42,199 
			 May 2012 50,321 
			 June 2012 40,819 
			 July 2012 46,930 
			 August 2012 41,198 
			 Total 1,165,480

Veterans

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions representatives of his Department had with (a) energy companies in Scotland and (b) service charities nationally on financial support for armed forces veterans in receipt of severe war disablement pension to help with energy bills (i) before and (ii) after the switch to the Warm Home Discount.

Mark Francois: holding answer 10 September 2012
	The Warm Home Discount scheme is a Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) policy. Officials from the Ministry of Defence are in discussion with DECC officials on this issue.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Nuclear Power Stations: Safety

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what representation the UK sent to the International Experts' Meeting on Protection Against Extreme Earthquakes and Tsunamis in the Light of the Accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, organised by the International Atomic Energy Agency on 4 to 7 September 2012; what specific conclusions were reached that have an effect on UK preparedness against such natural threats to UK-based nuclear plants; and whether there are any quantifiable cost implications for the UK of those conclusions.

John Hayes: No UK representative was sent to the International Experts' Meeting on Protection Against Extreme Earthquakes and Tsunamis in the Light of the Accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. However the UK is fully engaged with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and other international partners to fully learn the lessons from the events at Fukushima in 2011.

Nurseries

Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many child care places his Department provides on its estate; what the cost is of providing such places; how many such places his Department provided in 2010; what the cost was of providing such places in 2010; what plans he has for changes in the provision of such child care places; and what the number of places will be once any such changes have been implemented.

Gregory Barker: The Department of Energy and Climate Change does not provide any child care provision on its estate.

Wind Power

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what discussions his Department has had with the Government of Denmark on the economics of (a) onshore and (b) offshore wind farms over the last three years.

John Hayes: DECC has been in contact with a number of parties including the Government of Denmark over the last three years to discuss various aspects of wind power, including improving the economics of both offshore and onshore wind farms.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Bahamas

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what technical assistance his Department is offering to the Government of the Bahamas in the field of building capacity for good government and democratic accountability.

Mark Simmonds: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is not currently offering any technical assistance to the Government of the Bahamas in the field of building capacity for good government and democratic accountability.

British Nationals Abroad

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many UK nationals have been prosecuted outside the UK for the sexual abuse of children while they were working or volunteering in children's homes and schools in the last five years.

Mark Simmonds: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office Consular database, Compass, is used to record our individual Consular case handling. We collate statistics on British nationals who are reported to us as having been arrested for sexual abuse of children. However, Compass does not capture information about the number of prosecutions.
	The number of arrests in each of the last five years are as follows:
	
		
			  Total 
			 2008 61 
			 2009 64 
			 2010 63 
			 2011 72 
			 2012 (until 31 July) 43

Economic and Monetary Union

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the political and economic implications of an EU member state leaving the Eurozone.

David Lidington: In order to protect and promote UK interests the Government continuously assess the political and economic implications for the UK of developments in the Eurozone. As the Prime Minister said on 17 May 2012:
	http://www.number10.gov.uk/news/pm-economy-speech/
	whatever path the euro area takes the Government are prepared to do:
	“whatever is necessary to protect this country and secure our economy and financial system”.

Economic and Monetary Union

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to prepare contingency plans should an EU member state leave the Eurozone.

David Lidington: The Government have contingency plans for all sorts of eventualities. We do not discuss these plans publicly.

Hungary

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Government of Hungary on their decision to transfer convicted murderer Ramil Safarov from Hungary to Azerbaijan.

David Lidington: The UK Government have not held any discussions with the Hungarian authorities on the case of Ramil Safarov. We are, however, following developments closely. We have supported EU and Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) statements on the Safarov case. Our main concern is to ensure that tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan are not increased as a result of this incident, and to encourage both sides to exercise restraint to prevent any escalation of the situation.

India

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Government of India on facilitating investigations of UK nationals who have been arrested in India for the sexual abuse of children in schools and orphanages.

Hugo Swire: Both the former Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the hon. Member for Taunton Deane (Mr Browne), and the Director of Consular Services have stressed the importance of police to police co-operation on UK/India cases with high-level Government representatives in India. The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) works with the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) in liaison with the Indian authorities on a number of issues, including cases involving the arrest of British nationals for sexual offences in schools and orphanages. In addition, CEOP continues to develop means to prevent unsuitable UK nationals from having access to children abroad.

Iran

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the report by the International Atomic Energy Agency of an increase in the number of uranium enrichment centrifuges in Iran.

Alistair Burt: The director general's report of 30 August shows that Iran is continuing to enrich uranium, and is significantly expanding its uranium enrichment capacity, in direct contravention of multiple International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board and Security Council resolutions. Iran's rapid installation of centrifuges at the Fordow enrichment facility over recent months is cause for considerable concern. Iran can have no civilian use for the significant quantities of enriched material the facility could now produce. We continue to urge Iran to co-operate with the IAEA. To restore international confidence in its intentions, Iran needs to demonstrate sustained co-operation with the IAEA and transparency across its nuclear programme.

Kenya

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the recent violence in Kenya between the Orma and Pokomo communities.

Mark Simmonds: We are deeply concerned by the reports of violent clashes between the Orma and Pokomo groups in the Tana River District, which has claimed over 100 lives in recent weeks. The Government of Kenya have told us that 1,000 additional police officers are deploying to the area; and a disarmament programme and mediation efforts are continuing. We have urged the Government of Kenya to ensure that all those responsible are held accountable. We will continue to support the Government of Kenya's efforts to prevent conflict at national and provincial levels and help civil society organisations and religious groups to jointly manage and respond to local tensions.

Palestinians

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the UK will vote in favour of recognising Palestine as a non-member observer state at the United Nations General Assembly.

Alistair Burt: No proposal has been put to the United Nations General Assembly on this issue.
	We see negotiations towards a two state solution as the best way to meet the national aspirations of Israelis and Palestinians and lead to a sovereign, viable and contiguous Palestinian state living in peace and security alongside a safe and secure Israel and their other neighbours in the region.
	If the Palestinian Authority does turn to the United Nations General Assembly, the UK will use its vote in a way that makes a return to negotiations more likely.

Pitcairn Islands

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the measures in place to protect children on the Pitcairn Islands from convicted sex offenders.

Mark Simmonds: Two child safety reviews have so far been commissioned by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Department for International Development to assess the adequacy of child safety standards on the Pitcairn Islands. These reviews, the first in 2009 and the latest last year, have been completed by independent experts (including from the Lucy Faithfull Foundation). The British Government have proceeded to implement, where possible, the recommendations made in the reports for further strengthening of child safeguarding measures on Pitcairn.
	There is a significant community of professionals based full-time on Pitcairn including a community police officer seconded from the New Zealand Police Service, a family and community adviser, who is a New Zealand trained social worker, a teacher and a doctor. There is also an FCO official, stationed full-time on Pitcairn, who is engaged in safeguarding work. All professionals receive child protection training before they go to the island and there are established policies and procedures in place for handling specific child protection concerns. Most members of the island community have also attended human rights training and child protection training.
	All visitors to Pitcairn are made aware of the child protection measures in place on the island and are offered child safety advice.
	Convicted offenders who have been released on parole are subject to a number of conditions specified by the Pitcairn Parole Commission, including restrictions on their movements and on whom they may associate with. Offenders are closely monitored by their supervision officer—the community police officer. Offenders have been obliged to participate in an Offender Treatment Programme.
	A Pitcairn Sexual Offences Ordinance (2010) modelled on the UK Sexual Offences Act 2003 is now in force. It provides for a sex offenders register, sexual offences prevention orders and risk of sexual harm orders.
	Another child safety review is scheduled for 2013.

Departmental Contracts

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the name is of each company with which his Department has a contract; what the monetary value of each such contract is; and what is provided to his Department under the terms of the contract.

David Lidington: There are a large number of live contracts in place within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office but the details are in many cases devolved to our individual posts abroad and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Contracts

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his Department's policy is on taking into account when assessing tenders submitted for departmental contracts the (a) apprenticeship schemes, (b) policies on employment of paid interns and (c) policies of payment of at least the living wage of each bidding company.

David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does not in general take these policies into account when assessing tenders. Though the FCO agrees with the use of Government Procurement to deliver policy initiatives, we have a limited capacity to achieve impact on UK-based initiatives because the majority of FCO expenditure is overseas. However, FCO Services, which is one of our major suppliers, does have an apprenticeship scheme and I refer the hon. Member to their website
	http://www.fcoscareers.co.uk/Celebrating-Apprentices/Default.aspx
	for more information on this.

Rwanda

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the effect of the resumption of aid to Rwanda on peace and security in the region; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Simmonds: The decision to disburse half of the delayed UK general budget support payment to Rwanda and reprogramme the remaining half to education and food security programmes was announced on 4 September. There are currently no reports on the effect of this decision on peace and security in the region. We continue to monitor the situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo closely.

Western Sahara

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on an assault on the children of Aminatou Haidar while travelling between Agadir, Morocco and El Aauin, Western Sahara.

Alistair Burt: We are aware of reports of the alleged assault on Aminatou Haidar's children on 8 July 2012. The alleged assault was reported by media sources and the embassy continues to monitor this. We regularly raise with the Moroccan authorities the importance of ensuring full respect for human rights in Western Sahara.

Western Sahara

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Government have received legal advice on whether the right of self-determination for non-self-governing peoples, as described by the International Court of Justice in its Kosovo advisory opinion of July 2010, applies to and is to be supported erga omnes by all states in the case of the Saharawi people of Western Sahara.

Alistair Burt: In the Kosovo Advisory Opinion of July 2010, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) referenced its advisory opinion of 1974 in confirming that under international law, peoples of non-self-governing territories enjoy the right of self-determination. In its 1974 opinion, the ICJ confirmed that the people of Western Sahara have the right to self-determination, which is also the UK’s long-standing position. The current status of Western Sahara is disputed and undetermined. Through our support for the efforts of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Western Sahara, Ambassador Christopher Ross, we continue to encourage the parties to reach a mutually-acceptable political solution that ensures the right to self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.

Yemen

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the next Friends of Yemen meeting will take place.

Alistair Burt: The next Friends of Yemen meeting will be held on 27 September in New York.

Zimbabwe

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to ensure that EU restrictive measures against the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation will only be lifted when there is a peaceful, democratic Zimbabwe that abides by international law.

Mark Simmonds: As set out in my statement of 11 September 2012, the EU announced on 23 July 2012 that we would respond to a peaceful and credible constitutional referendum in Zimbabwe with a suspension of the EU restrictive measures on all but a small core of individuals around President Mugabe, particularly those who will most directly influence the potential for violence in the next election. The EU will in due course discuss which measures on individuals and entities should be included in any suspension should a referendum take place. Any decision must be made by the 27 member states in consensus, considering all legal arguments.
	As to the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation, we remain concerned by the serious allegations that have been made by Global Witness and others. We are considering all of this evidence prior to discussions with EU partners, and where appropriate will seek to retain or add names if there is a compelling legal justification to do so. Absent any changes following a peaceful and credible constitutional referendum, all EU restrictive measures on Zimbabwe would be subject to renewal on 20 February 2013. Renewal must also be agreed by all 27 member states in consensus.

JUSTICE

Fines: Surcharges

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the likely effect of the introduction of the new victim surcharge regime on the level of (a) fines and (b) compensation orders imposed by magistrates.

Helen Grant: We do not believe that the increased surcharge will have an effect on the level of compensation orders imposed by magistrates. Magistrates may however reduce the amount of a fine ordered should the offender not have the necessary means to pay both compensation and the surcharge.

Magistrates Courts

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice in how many magistrates courts in England and Wales non-stipendiary magistrates are expected to provide their own paper.

Helen Grant: Magistrates should not be expected to provide their own paper in any court. Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service should provide the paper magistrates need in order for them to perform their duties effectively.

Prisoners: Foreign Nationals

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice from which three foreign countries the highest number of foreign national prisoners come; and what steps he is taking to return such prisoners to secure detention in their country of origin.

Jeremy Wright: The top three countries with the highest number of foreign national offenders (FNOs) in prison in England and Wales are currently Jamaica, Poland and Ireland. We have prisoner transfer agreements (PTAs) with Poland and Ireland. The UK's agreement with Ireland is for voluntary transfer only and very few Irish nationals seek to transfer. Poland has a five-year derogation from the EU compulsory PTA, but compulsory transfer is possible under the additional protocol to the Council of Europe convention. Prisoners are currently being considered under this instrument. The UK signed a voluntary PTA with Jamaica in 2007, but it has not been ratified as Jamaica has not implemented the enabling legislation. We are in discussions with the new Government of Jamaica on a compulsory PTA.
	Reducing the FNO population in the UK is a key priority for this Government. The UK has PTAs with over 100 countries and territories, most of which are voluntary and require the prisoner's consent to transfer. However, as part of our strategy to reduce the FNO population, we are seeking to negotiate more compulsory PTAs, which will not require the consent of the prisoner to transfer, with our high volume FNO countries.

Prisoners: Literacy

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the number of convicted offenders who have subsequently learnt to read and write while serving prison sentences in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice/National Offender Management Service does not hold the information requested.
	Learning in prisons is delivered by providers of further education and training under contract to the Skills Funding Agency. The agency does not hold the information in the precise format requested. However, the agency does hold information on the number of people in custody who were enrolled on learning aims to study English in the 2010-11 academic year. A total of 38,600 people enrolled in Skills for Life-related learning aims, of which 26,200 learners were enrolled on aims in English. Some of the 26,200 individual learners may have enrolled on more than one learning aim. Data for the full academic year 2011-12 are not yet available.

Prisoners: Mental Illness

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many patients and inmates in the dangerous and severe personality disorder programme are serving indeterminate sentences for public protection.

Jeremy Wright: Of the 188 people who were in the programme as at 31 December 2011, a total of 25 were serving an indeterminate sentence of imprisonment for public protection.

Departmental Contracts

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his Department's policy is on taking into account when assessing tenders submitted for departmental contracts the (a) apprenticeship schemes, (b) policies on employment of paid interns and (c) policies of payment of at least the living wage of each bidding company.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) procures in accordance with EU legislation. In relation to assessing tenders the following information applies.
	(a) The MOJ does not have a specific policy on apprenticeship schemes relating to tender assessments. Wording within tender documentation encourages bidders to use apprentices in the delivery of the service under contracts. The use of the Government's statutory Apprentice programme is encouraged, however on occasion contractors may have their own arrangements outside of this scheme.
	(b)MOJ does not have a specific policy relating to bidder's policies on employment of paid interns when assessing tenders. The MOJ does however have a central policy relating to interns that are directly employed and is committed to developing its policy on internships in line with the Social Mobility Strategy “Opening Doors, Breaking Barriers” released in 2011. The strategy outlined the commitment to end all informal internships and ensuring that all internship opportunities were paid for post and would be advertised via the civil service jobs website in an open and fair manner.
	(c) MOJ does not have a specific policy relating to assessing bidders polices of payment of “Living Wage”. This is not a requirement that MOJ is able to enforce upon contractors as the living wage is only paid by employers on a voluntary basis.

Racial Harassment: Public Transport

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many successful prosecutions for racial abuse on public transport there were in Lancashire in each of the last five years.

Damian Green: Information held centrally by the Ministry of Justice on the Court Proceedings Database does not contain information about the circumstances behind each case, beyond the description provided in the statute under which proceedings are brought. It is not possible to identify from this centrally held information the specific location of occurrence of racial abuse offences.

Reoffenders

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the reoffending rate was for (a) Brigg and Goole constituency, (b) Yorkshire and the Humber and (c) England and Wales in each of the last five years.

Jeremy Wright: The following table presents the number of offenders in England and Wales and Yorkshire and the Humber who were released from custody, received a non-custodial conviction at court, received a caution, reprimand, warning or tested positive for opiates or cocaine in each of the years, 2005 to 2009 (the latest calendar year available); and the proportion that committed a proven re-offence within a one-year follow-up period. Reoffending rates for 2010 will be published on 25 October 2012.
	
		
			 The number of offenders cautioned, convicted or released from custody in each year between 2005 and 2009 and the proportion who reoffended within a one year follow-up period 
			  2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber      
			 Number of offenders in cohort 77,427 81,714 80,630 74,361 70,908 
			 Proportion of offenders who reoffend (%) 28.8 28.5 28.2 28.7 27.3 
			       
			 England and Wales      
			 Number of offenders in cohort 695,590 742,519 766,474 735,527 697,362 
			 Proportion of offenders who reoffend (%) 27.0 26.7 26.5 26.9 26.3 
			 Note: The number of offenders does not represent all proven offenders. Offenders who were released from custody or commenced a court order are matched to the Police National Computer database and a certain proportion of these offenders cannot be matched and are, therefore, excluded from the offender cohort, i.e. the group of offenders for whom reoffending is measured. 
		
	
	In response to a Ministry of Justice consultation on improvements to reoffending statistics, proven reoffending data are only produced at the regional, probation area and local authority level and not at constituency level.
	Proven reoffending is defined as any offence committed in a one-year follow-up period and receiving a court conviction, caution, reprimand or warning in the one- year follow-up. Following this one-year period, a further six-month waiting period is allowed for cases to progress through the courts.

Terrorism: Compensation

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to his answer of 27 February 2012, Official Report, column 74W, on compensation: victims, what recent progress he has made in implementing the provisions of the Crime and Security Act 2010 on compensation for victims of terrorism overseas.

Helen Grant: A draft scheme for future victims of overseas terrorism made under the provisions of the Crime and Security Act 2010 was laid before Parliament on 10 July. It has yet to receive parliamentary approval but, subject to that approval, will be implemented 15 days later.
	An ex gratia scheme which makes payments to victims with ongoing disabilities arising from certain overseas terrorist incidents that have taken place since January 2002 opened for applications on 16 April this year.

Third Sector

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department has taken to implement the recommendations of the National Audit Office's report, central Government's implementation of the National Compact.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice welcomes the National Audit Office's report and its recommendations for central Government's implementation of the National Compact. It is developing a cross Ministry of Justice implementation strategy and action plan to address the recommendations contained in the report and which will strengthen its partnerships with Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations.

Wellingborough Prison

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the (a) capital expenditure and (b) revenue cost was for Wellingborough Prison in each of the last five years.

Jeremy Wright: The following table shows the capital expenditure and revenue costs for HMP Wellingborough for the past five financial years (2007-08 to 2011-12). The resource costs and some capital costs were incurred locally at the prison with further capital expenditure incurred centrally.
	
		
			 £million 
			  2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Local resource expenditure 13.6 13.9 13.4 11.9 11.4 
			 Local capital expenditure 0.060 0.038 0.055 0.128 0.115 
			 Central capital expenditure 3.5 1.1 0.2 0.1 0.0 
		
	
	Additionally it may be helpful to note expenditure from the three years prior to this (2004-05 to 2006-07).
	
		
			 £ million 
			  2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 
			 Local resource expenditure 10.9 13.9 14.0 
			 Local capital expenditure 0.071 0.022 0.122 
			 Central capital expenditure 6.3 6.1 5.1 
			 Note: All figures expressed in £ million. The local costs are based on direct resource and direct capital expenditure at the establishment. This excludes expenditure met at regional or national level. The local resource figures for 2004-05 to 2007-08 are as published within the Annual Report and Accounts for HM Prison Service. The local resource figures for 2008-09 onwards are as published in an addendum to the Annual Report and Accounts of the National Offender Management Service which are available at: http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/corporate-reports/noms Figures may not be directly comparable over time due to changes in scope and accounting treatment.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Nurseries

Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many child care places her Department provides on its estate; what the cost is of providing such places; how many such places her Department provided in 2010; what the cost was of providing such places in 2010; what plans she has for changes in the provision of such child care places; and what the number of places will be once any such changes have been implemented.

Michael Penning: My Department does not provide child care places on its estate and no such places were provided in 2010. Northern Ireland Office staff have access to summer play schemes in Westminster and Croydon through our links with the Ministry of Justice. There are no plans to change these arrangements.

Departmental Contracts

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the name is of each company with which her Department has a contract; what the monetary value of each such contract is; and what is provided to her Department under the terms of the contract.

Michael Penning: My Department has seven contracts. The name, monetary value and details of services provided in relation to each are set out in the following table:
	
		
			 Contract holder Service Approximate value per annum (£) 
			 Povall Worthington Property management 80,000 
			 Independent security consultants Security advice 50,000 
			 I Cover Provision of business transport service 24,000 
			 Knock Travel Travel administration service 20,400 
			 Executive Marquees Marquee service for royal functions 29,000 
			 Direct Wine Shipments Beverage services 9,000 
			 Hamilton and Kirk Catering services 126,000

Departmental Contracts

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what her Department's policy is on taking into account when assessing tenders submitted for departmental contracts the (a) apprenticeship schemes, (b) policies on employment of paid interns and (c) policies of payment of at least the living wage of each bidding company.

Michael Penning: My Department follows the agreed procedures and guidance established by Cabinet Office and Central Procurement Directorate (Department of Finance and Personnel, NI) when assessing tenders submitted for departmental contracts.

SCOTLAND

Food

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people sought assistance from food banks in Scotland in (a) 2011, (b) 2010, (c) 2009, (d) 2008, (e) 2007, (f) 2006 and (g) 2005.

Michael Moore: The Government do not hold information on the number of people seeking assistance from food banks. However, I am concerned by the Citizens Advice Scotland findings in their recent report on this matter. The Government are doing all they can by helping people back into sustainable employment through DWP's Work programme and Get Britain Working initiatives. We are also focused on helping people on the lowest incomes by, among other things, raising the starting point for paying income tax to £9,205 by next April.

Nurseries

Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many child care places his Department provides on its estate; what the cost is of providing such places; how many such places his Department provided in 2010; what the cost was of providing such places in 2010; what plans he has for changes in the provision of such child care places; and what the number of places will be once any such changes have been implemented.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office does not provide any child care places on its estate. The Office did not provide any child care places on its estate in 2010.

Procurement

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the name is of each company with which his Department has a contract; what the monetary value of each such contract is; and what is provided to his Department under the terms of the contract.

David Mundell: Other than minor or bespoke purchases, the Scotland Office does not undertake direct procurement or tendering projects. It utilises existing service contracts between suppliers and the Scottish Government or the Ministry of Justice. The only significant contract issued directly by the Scotland Office is with the Royal Mail in relation to candidates' free mailings of election materials for the Scottish Parliament elections. The price paid by the Scotland Office depends upon the nature and extent of the services provided.

Procurement

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what his Department's policy is on taking into account when assessing tenders submitted for departmental contracts the (a) apprenticeship schemes, (b) policies on employment of paid interns and (c) policies of payment of at least the living wage of each bidding company.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office does not generally invite tenders for contracts. It uses service contracts negotiated by the Ministry of Justice and the Scottish Government.

TRANSPORT

Airports

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department plans to utilise spare capacity at (a) Birmingham International Airport and (b) other regional airports.

Patrick McLoughlin: Government's Aviation Policy Framework consultation, which was published on 12 July 2012, identifies the UK's airports outside of London as having an important role in helping maintain the country's air connectivity and their potential to relieve pressure on the busiest airports in the south east.
	On the wider issue of UK airport capacity, the Government have asked Sir Howard Davies to chair an independent Commission tasked with identifying and recommending to Government options for maintaining this country's status as an international hub for aviation. Further details on the Commission's full membership and terms of reference will be announced shortly.

Birmingham Airport

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  whether he intends to consider expanding Birmingham airport;
	(2)  what meetings he has had on the expansion of Birmingham airport.

Simon Burns: Birmingham airport already has planning approval to extend its existing runway. Construction of the extension is due for completion in 2014. The former Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Justine Greening), visited the airport in February as part of a visit to Birmingham to hear about this and other developments at the airport. On the wider issue of UK airport capacity, the Government have asked Sir Howard Davies to chair an independent Commission tasked with identifying and recommending to Government options for maintaining this country's status as an international hub for aviation. Further details on the Commission's full membership and terms of reference will be announced shortly.

Birmingham Airport

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the Government have assessed the likely effect on High Speed 2 passenger numbers of expanding Birmingham airport.

Simon Burns: No quantitative assessment has been made of the effect on High Speed 2 passenger numbers of ongoing developments at Birmingham airport. However, the airport itself has made clear its support for HS2, citing the role of reduced journey times in increasing the airport's catchment area and helping reduce pressure on more crowded airports.

Blue Badge Scheme

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent estimate he has made of the time taken and costs involved in processing applications for the Blue Badge Scheme; how he plans to rectify complaints regarding the length of time taken for the dispatch of badges; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Baker: Responsibility for administering and enforcing the Blue Badge scheme falls to local authorities. As part of recent reforms to prevent abuse and fraud of the scheme and to ensure that those most in need receive badges, the Government introduced a requirement for independent medical assessments to be carried out in cases where a person's eligibility is in doubt. It is for the relevant local authority to decide if someone applying under the eligibility criterion that relates to people who are either unable to walk or have very serious difficulty in walking should be referred for an assessment. For those that are, the process should take about 6 weeks between application and receipt of a badge. My Department has advised all local authorities to ensure existing badge holders are aware of the requirement and to apply in good time before an existing badge expires. People who apply under other criteria should receive badges more quickly.
	The Blue Badge Improvement Service has been in operation since January 2012. All local authorities use this service to order the new badge design that is now printed using sophisticated, anti-fraud technologies at a secure site. The supplier has a contractual requirement to deliver badges to the holder or the relevant local authority within five days of the badge being requested by the local authority. Since January, this service level has been met for the 700,000 badges that have been requested and printed using the new service. There is provision for local authorities to request a fast-track 24 hour service for a small additional charge.
	In 2011, my Department published an Impact Assessment which estimated average costs as follows:
	Administration cost of processing application: £14.42
	Cost of assessing applicant: £11.80
	Cost of producing a Blue Badge: £4.60
	Local authorities are permitted to charge successful badge applicants up to £10. Local authorities receive grant funding to cover the cost of independent mobility assessments from the Department of Health.
	I am aware of delays in a small number of local authorities as a result of local implementation decisions. These are a matter for the relevant local authority to resolve. The vast majority of local authorities are issuing badges without any problems.

Motor Vehicles: Registration

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has any plans to introduce a re-registration system for classic and vintage motor vehicles; and which classes of vehicle would be subject to any planned system.

Stephen Hammond: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has operated a re-registration scheme for classic and vintage motor vehicles since 1990. The scheme is intended to ensure that historic vehicles registered for the first time on DVLA's system are able to reclaim their original registration numbers, subject to satisfactory evidence. There are no plans to change this scheme.

Departmental Contracts

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the name is of each company with which his Department has a contract; what the monetary value of each such contract is; and what is provided to his Department under the terms of the contract.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport and its seven Executive Agencies hold 1474 live contracts as of 31st July 2012. A table with details of each contract has been placed in the library of the house. It would not be possible to provide full details of what is provided under the terms of each contract without incurring disproportional cost. However, the contract titles give a general indication of the types of goods or services provided.

Transport: Weather

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans his Department has to draw on lessons learnt during the last two winters to provide continuity of transport services during times of severe weather.

Norman Baker: Significant efforts have been made this year across the transport sectors, including road, rail and aviation, in order to boost resilience and preparedness for the forthcoming winter. This builds on the actions we have taken in response to a number of winter resilience reports.
	The Department for Transport continues to work closely with all key transport operators, the local government sector, salt suppliers and other key partners to ensure that we minimise disruption on our transport network in the event of any severe winter weather.

Travel: Health

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to ensure that local facilities and services are easily and safely accessible on foot, by bicycle and by other modes of transport involving physical activity.

Norman Baker: The Department provides funding to Local Transport Authorities to implement small transport improvement schemes, including road safety and walking and cycling schemes, through the Integrated Block. This funding allows authorities the freedom to develop and implement solutions which best suit their localities. We are also allocating £600m to local authorities through the Local Sustainable Transport Fund to support packages of measures that deliver economic growth and cut carbon. The majority of the successful bids contain a walking or cycling element.
	In addition to this, earlier this year, we awarded £8 million for Sustrans and £7 million for the Cycle Rail Working Group specifically for cycle infrastructure, some of which will help develop traffic free and traffic calmed routes. Furthermore, in June, the Department announced a £15m fund to improve safety for cyclists outside London, by tackling dangerous junctions. This was in addition to the £15m fund awarded to Transport for London in March for the same purpose.
	The Department for Transport also supports local authorities in improving cyclist safety by producing guidance on providing for cyclists in Local Transport Note 2/08: “Cycle Infrastructure Design”: http://assets.dft.gov.uk/publications/local-transport-notes/ltn-2-08.pdf We have also just published updated advice on providing shared use facilities, in “Local Transport Note 1/12: Shared use routes for pedestrians and cyclists”: http://www.dft.gov.uk/publications/ltn-01-12/ This complements the advice in Cycle Infrastructure Design.
	The Department's document “Manual for Streets” provides guidance for practitioners involved in the planning of new streets and modifications to existing ones, and emphasises the importance of taking into account people of all ages and abilities when designing pedestrian access.

WALES

Buildings

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales 
	(1)  what the cost to the public purse was of moving the Wales Office in Cardiff to Caspian Point;
	(2)  what the cost was of refurbishing the Wales Office in Caspian Point.

Stephen Crabb: The project to relocate the Department's Cardiff base to Caspian Point has not yet been fully completed nor all invoices received and, as a consequence, while the cost will be within budget, we do not yet have a final figure.

Police and Crime Commissioners

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales 
	(1)  what steps have been taken by his Department to ensure that the election of police and crime commissioners will be conducted on a fully bilingual basis in Wales;
	(2)  what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on ensuring that the election of police and crime commissioners will be conducted on a fully bilingual basis in Wales;
	(3)  for what reason a Welsh Forms Order was not laid by the Home Department before Parliament by six months before the election of police and crime commissioners.

David Jones: The Government are committed to conducting the election of police and crime commissioners in Wales on a fully bilingual basis. I have discussed the forthcoming elections with the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), and the Minister for Policing and Criminal Justice, my right hon. Friend the Member for Ashford (Damian Green). The Home Office is working to ensure legislation is in place to enable ballot papers in Welsh and English, and the Secretary of State for the Home Department intends to lay a draft Welsh Forms Order when Parliament returns in October. The reasons why the Welsh Forms Order is yet to be laid is a matter for the Home Office.

Departmental Contracts

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the name is of each company with which his Department has a contract; what the monetary value of each such contract is; and what is provided to his Department under the terms of the contract.

Stephen Crabb: The information requested is contained in the following table:
	
		
			 Company Service Contract value (£) 
			 Eduserve Website hosting 6,936 
			 PHS Group Recycling services in Cardiff 1,000 
			 Paper round Recycling services in London 3,000 
			 Civic Maintenance Services Ltd Cleaning services in Cardiff 8,143 
		
	
	All amounts are exclusive of VAT.

Departmental Contracts

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what his Department's policy is on taking into account when assessing tenders submitted for departmental contracts the (a) apprenticeship schemes, (b) policies on employment of paid interns and (c) policies of payment of at least the living wage of each bidding company.

David Jones: As a small Department, we are not involved in assessing such tenders.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Council Tax Benefit

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent representations he has received from local authorities on his plans for the localisation of council tax benefit.

Brandon Lewis: Ministers regularly receive representations on the reform of council tax support from a range of organisations and individuals.
	In December the Government published their response to the outcome of consultation on proposals for localisation.
	Earlier this year the Government consulted on funding distribution, and are currently consulting on arrangements for local precepting authorities.
	The Government intend to respond to the outcome of both these consultations in the autumn.

Housing Starts

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the likely level of housing starts in the next quarter.

Don Foster: We do not estimate future housing starts on a quarterly basis. However, we estimate that Government and private sector investments of £19.5 billion will deliver 170,000 affordable homes by 2015 and that further funding of £780 million and a guarantee of £10 billion, announced last week, will deliver a further 70,000 new homes.

Armed Forces: Leisure

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will take steps to encourage local authorities to provide discounts on leisure facilities for service personnel; and if he will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
	Sports and recreation facilities are delivered by local authorities; it is for each local authority to determine appropriate discounts and concessions for members of its community.

Certification Quality Markings: Iron and Steel

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 10 September 2012, Official Report, column 37W, on certification quality markings: iron and steel, which derogations are available to smaller-sized companies with regard to the requirement for CE markings of structural steel products.

Don Foster: The European Construction Products Regulation (EU 305/2011) contains derogations and simplified procedures in:
	Chapter II—Declaration of performance and CE marking
	Chapter VI—Simplified procedures
	The full text of the Regulation can be found on:
	http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2011:088:0005:0043:EN:PDF

Community Infrastructure Levy

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations he has received on the effect of the community infrastructure levy on the number of self-built homes.

Nicholas Boles: holding answer 14 September 2012
	Representations have been received from the National Self-Build Association. We are currently reviewing whether there is a disproportionate impact from the levy on self-build housing.

Green Belt

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he plans to take to ensure that existing planning permissions are implemented before further greenfield sites can be developed.

Don Foster: The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that land should be used effectively by re-using brownfield land that is not of high environmental value. Councils can continue to set local targets for development on brownfield sites. Local councils should identify and update annually a supply of specific deliverable sites sufficient to provide five years’ worth of housing against their housing requirements with an additional buffer of 5%. Sites with planning permission should be considered deliverable until permission expires (unless there is clear evidence that schemes will not be implemented within five years). The Government have also extended a measure that allows developers the chance to seek additional time to get their sites up and running before planning permission expires.

Housing: Construction

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to his proposed changes to the planning rules regarding the building of extensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that such extensions comply with Part M of the Building Regulations; and if he will make a statement.

Don Foster: holding answer 14 September 2012
	Part M of the Building Regulations does not apply to the extension of domestic buildings but does apply to extensions to non domestic buildings. Proposed changes to the planning system will not make any difference to the way in which Part M applies.

Housing: Greater London

David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many overcrowded households there were in each London borough in each year since 2001.

Mark Prisk: Overcrowding is estimated using survey data. Due to limited sample sizes a three-year moving average is generally used, and the results are not robust below regional level. Even taking this into account, there remains some uncertainty around the figures. The figures given as follows are for overcrowded households in London as a whole, and are derived from the Survey of English Housing, the Labour Force Survey and the English Housing Survey.
	Given that these figures include data from at least two years' worth of surveys that were carried out prior to May 2010, they are primarily a reflection of the situation that the coalition Government have inherited from the last administration.
	The Government are taking a series of steps to promote house building, to help councils tackle waiting lists and better manage their housing stock, to get empty homes into productive use, and to build 170,000 affordable homes over the spending review period.
	
		
			 Period Households Percentage Survey Source 
			 2008-09 to 2010-11 259,000 8.4 English Housing Survey 
			 2007-08 to 2009-10 237,000 7.8 2007-08 Survey of English Housing, 2008-10 English Housing Survey 
			 2008-09 224,000 7.2 2008-09 English Housing Survey and Labour Force Survey combined 
		
	
	
		
			 2005-06 to 2007-08 207,000 6.8 Survey of English Housing 
			 2004-05 to 2006-07 203,000 6.6 Survey of English Housing 
			 2003-04 to 2005-06 203,000 6.6 Survey of English Housing 
			 2002-03 to 2004-05 194,000 6.5 Survey of English Housing 
			 2001-02 to 2003-04 180,000 6.1 Survey of English Housing

Housing: Greater London

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment his Department has made of the potential housing capacity of the Heathrow site, in the event that it was sold off as a result of development of a Thames Estuary airport.

Mark Prisk: No assessment has been made by the Department of the potential housing capacity of Heathrow.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department has taken to facilitate building firms forming commercial arrangements with lenders in the context of the NewBuy Guarantee scheme.

Mark Prisk: It is for builders and lenders to make commercial arrangements. We are working closely with the House Builders Federation, the Council for Mortgage Lenders, Jardine Lloyd Thompson (the scheme administrator), individual lenders and builders to optimise the scheme. The six participating lenders (Aldermore, Barclays, Halifax, Nationwide, Natwest and Santander) cover nearly 75% of the mortgage market. The 53 builders that are either operational or due to be operational shortly cover over 55% of the new build construction market. All of the top five builders, and nine of the top 10, are operational.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the number of additional homes built in each English region as a consequence of the introduction of the NewBuy Guarantee scheme.

Mark Prisk: Government are committed to reviewing the NewBuy Guarantee scheme in 2014. This review will include an assessment of the number of additional homes built and jobs supported by the scheme. NewBuy statistics will be made publicly available on Thursday 27 September and will be published on the DCLG website.
	The House Builders Federation estimates there will be at least 25,000 additional new homes built as a direct result of NewBuy, which is run nationally and not on the old regional boundaries.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the number of NewBuy Guarantee Scheme mortgages agreed with (a) NatWest, (b) Barclays and (c) Nationwide.

Mark Prisk: The Department is unable to provide commercially sensitive information. NewBuy statistics will be made publicly available on 27 September and will be published on the DCLG website in the form of an official statistical release, but this will not include information that is commercially sensitive.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the current total value is of the Government's 5.5 per cent guarantee with respect to the NewBuy Guarantee Scheme; and how much of this sum the Government have released to builders.

Mark Prisk: Government's maximum possible contingent liability under the NewBuy Guarantee scheme is £1 billion. Statistics, including the Government's contingent liability under the NewBuy Guarantee scheme as at 30 June 2012, will be made publicly available on 27 September and will be published on the DCLG website in the form of an official statistical release.
	In the event that Government pay out against this liability, any funds would be released to mortgage lenders rather than builders.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the number of new commercial arrangements formed between builders and lenders since the introduction of the NewBuy Guarantee Scheme.

Mark Prisk: The NewBuy Guarantee scheme is industry-led. Details concerning the commercial relationships between participating builders and lenders are not held by the Department.

Rented Housing: Warrington

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the number of properties suitable for single people which are available for rent in Warrington; and how many such properties are vacant.

Mark Prisk: The Department for Communities and Local Government does not hold information about the number of properties available for rent that are suitable for single people.
	Data on empty homes can be found in the Department's live tables on dwelling stock. Live table 615 shows empty homes by local authority district.
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingstatistics/housingstatisticsby/stockincludingvacants/livetables/
	However, the number of these vacant properties that are suitable for single people is not available.

EDUCATION

Pupils: Foreign Nationals

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the effect of non-native English speaking pupils in the classroom; and if he will make a statement.

David Laws: The Government's priority for children learning English as an Additional Language (EAL) is to promote rapid language acquisition and include them in mainstream education as quickly as possible. Internal analysis undertaken in 2009 found that the proportion of EAL pupils in a school does not appear to have an effect on the performance of non-EAL pupils when prior attainment and contextual factors, such as deprivation and ethnicity, are taken into account. This analysis was based on the National Pupil Database and focused on outcomes at the end of key stage 4. A copy of the analysis has been placed in the House Libraries
	Local authorities have a legal duty to ensure that education is available for all children of compulsory school age that is appropriate to their age, ability, aptitudes and any special educational needs they may have. This duty applies irrespective of a child's immigration status, country of origin or rights of residence in a particular area.

School Meals

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  if he will commission further qualitative research, with a large sample size, on the standard of school meals in free schools and academies;
	(2)  if he will commission a quantitative survey, with a large sample size, to establish how many and what proportion of academy and free school heads (a) treat school food as a priority and (b) ensure that food served in their school meets the requirements of the Education (Nutritional Standards and Requirements for School Food) (England) Regulations 2007.

David Laws: A number of pieces of research undertaken by the School Food Trust, looking at school food in both academies and maintained schools, were published earlier this year. Together these showed a strong commitment from academies to providing healthy, nutritious food. The research also demonstrated that there is room for improvement in the quality of food in both maintained schools and academies.
	In the light of this evidence, the Secretary of State for Education, the right hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), has asked Henry Dimbleby and John Vincent to examine school food across the country, in order to produce an action plan for schools. The trust's research has provided some valuable information for the plan, and we are now looking to widen the debate beyond one which focuses solely on the existing standards. Mr Dimbleby and Mr Vincent are building on the research evidence by talking to a wide range of interested parties, including sector bodies, campaign groups and schools. Our view is that it would not, therefore, be necessary at the present time to undertake further research.

Schools: Inspections

Andrew Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he has plans to make all Ofsted inspections unannounced.

David Laws: The Secretary of State for Education, the right hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), has no plans to make all Ofsted inspections unannounced. The determination of notice of inspections is a matter for Her Majesty's chief inspector to decide. The chief inspector has recently reviewed notice periods for many of Ofsted's inspection remits as part of wider changes to inspection frameworks.

Schools: Playing Fields

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education for what reasons Ministers in his Department have overruled the Schools Playing Fields Advisory Panel in all cases since June 2010.

David Laws: holding answer 5 September 2012
	The Schools Playing Fields Advisory Panel does not make decisions, its remit is purely advisory, with the decision making power resting with Ministers. The panel's remit makes clear that the Secretary of State for Education’s decision will take account of all relevant matters including all information provided by the applicant, objectors, the advisory panel and departmental officials.
	There have been five occasions since June 2010 where the panel has not advised approval of the disposal but the Government have. Details of these five cases are set out as follows. Ministers only approve playing fields for sale where the sports and curriculum facilities remain sufficient or will be improved. In every case money from the sale was earmarked to improve education and sports facilities in the local community.
	Woodhouse Middle
	The school wanted to sell surplus untended grassland that had not been used for sport for five years. The Government approved the application and the money was dedicated to supporting a new library and improved changing facilities.
	Clarborough Primary
	This was originally a school based on two sites. A rebuild of the school meant one site became surplus. The Government approved the sale of the surplus site and the money was earmarked for sports facilities at other local schools.
	Elliott School
	The school wants to enhance its academic and sporting provision. Its sporting facilities are dilapidated and out of date. The Government approved the application. The sale will fund a new Multi-Use Games Area to host competitive sports fixtures such as football matches, which it cannot currently do. It will also replace its old gym with a state-of-the-art indoor facility with four sports courts.
	Ingleton Middle
	When the school was closed the site wasn't needed. The Government approved the application. Proceeds from the sale were used to improve the changing rooms at Settle College.
	Netley Primary
	The school is on a constrained site in north London. The local authority wants to sell a small part of the school's land. It wants to redevelop a unit for vulnerable children which neighbours the school and improve the primary school's facilities. The Government approved the application after the leader of the council made an appeal for the project to be approved. Delay could have affected the whole project with unwelcome consequences for the children concerned.

Schools: Playing Fields

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will take further steps to protect school playing fields from sale.

David Laws: No disposal of publicly-funded playing field land may take place without consent of the Secretary of State for Education, the right hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove). Strict controls continue to remain in place and decisions on applications are not taken lightly. As well as retaining the same criteria as used by the previous Administration, we have introduced a new requirement which means schools and local authorities require the Secretary of State's permission before they can change the use of publicly-funded playing fields by using them for other educational or recreational purposes.

Teachers: Manpower

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the headcount of in-service teachers in state secondary schools teaching (a) English, (b) mathematics, (c) biology, (d) chemistry, (e) physics, (f) other science, (g) history, (h) geography, (i) French, (j) Spanish, (k) German, (l) other modern languages, (m) classical languages, (n) art, (o) drama, (p) citizenship, (q) leisure and tourism, (r) religious education, (s) vocational subjects/diploma subjects, (t) sociology and social studies, (u) psychology, (v) media studies, (w) business studies, (x) dance, (y) performing arts, (z) textiles, (aa) food technology, (ab) ICT, (ac) personal, social, health and economic education and (ad) general studies was in (i) 2010 and (ii) 2011.

David Laws: Information on the number of in-service teachers in publicly-funded secondary schools in a typical week broken down by the subject they teach is available in table 12 of the School Workforce in England Statistical First Release, November 2011, which is available at the following link:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/researchandstatistics/statistics/allstatistics/a00205723/school-workforce-in-england-provisional-nov-2011
	Similar information for 2010 is available in table 12 of the equivalent November 2010 publication, which is available at the following link:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/researchandstatistics/statistics/allstatistics/a00196713/school-workforce-sfr
	The tables cover all the subject categories that are included in the data collection. Some of the subjects requested are not available individually and are captured under broader subject categories.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Bovine Tuberculosis

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of TB herd breakdowns his Department estimates result from cattle-to-cattle transmission; what steps he is taking to reduce that proportion; and what assessment he has made of the efficacy of those measures.

David Heath: Modelling work using data from the Randomised Badger Culling Trial (RBCT) indicates that approximately 50% of cattle cases in the RBCT areas could be due to infection from badgers, suggesting that 50% of cattle infection could be caused by cattle-to- cattle transmission in the infected areas of the country. In the low incidence areas of England the majority of bovine TB breakdowns are caused by cattle-to-cattle transmission, due to cattle movements from the infected areas. The breakdowns in the low incidence areas represent, however, a small proportion of national breakdown numbers—less than 2% of all cases, nationally.
	We have a wide range of cattle surveillance and control measures in place, including routine testing of all herds, slaughterhouse surveillance, pre-movement testing, removal and slaughter of infected animals, herd movement restrictions and tracing of animals moved from infected herds before disclosure of infection. These cattle measures will remain the foundation of our bovine TB eradication programme. Recent strengthening of them has included enhanced controls on some high-risk herds, improvements to slaughterhouse surveillance and reduced compensation payments for owners of affected herds with overdue tests. There are plans to introduce further improvements to control the geographic spread of infection and to enhance risk-based approaches to cattle trading.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether a farmer whose cattle is diagnosed with tuberculosis on arrival at a slaughterhouse is eligible for compensation.

David Heath: No, a farmer whose cattle is diagnosed with tuberculosis on arrival at a slaughterhouse is not eligible for compensation. Compensation is only paid by the Government to owners of cattle they require to be slaughtered for bovine TB control purposes, as laid down in the Cattle Compensation (England) Order 2012. Where an owner slaughters an animal voluntary and privately no compensation is payable.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Tom Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects the planned pilot badger culls to proceed.

David Heath: The dates for the badger control pilots will be agreed between Natural England and the licence holder and we are working with the farming industry so they can commence as soon as is practical.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Vaccination

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what evidence his Department holds on the effect of vaccinating badgers in the areas surrounding the proposed badger cull areas on the elimination of tuberculosis in badgers in those areas; and whether he has given consideration to promoting such vaccination as Government policy.

David Heath: Although there is limited scientific evidence on the cattle disease control benefits of badger vaccination, those benefits are greater than taking no action to tackle bovine TB in badgers. There is some evidence from modelling work on the beneficial effect of the disease in cattle through the combination of badger culling with vaccination.
	The guidance to Natural England for issuing badger culling licences includes advice on using vaccination as a buffer to mitigate the negative effects of perturbation in and surrounding culling areas.
	The Government have set up a Badger Vaccination Fund and made available up to £250,000 a year to encourage the use of badger vaccination in and around licensed culling areas.

Dairy Farming

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what support his Department is providing to ensure the long-term viability of dairy farms in England and Wales.

David Heath: The Government continue to support the UK dairy industry's work on a number of initiatives. We have given our full support to the industry's negotiations on a new code of practice which will help to improve contractual relationships in the supply chain.
	I want to see a profitable, thriving and competitive dairy sector. Product innovation and exploring new domestic and export markets is an integral part of this and would benefit all parts of the industry. The Government are providing £5 million worth of new funding under the Rural Economy Grant scheme for high quality dairy projects which can help dairy farmers to explore the potential in new markets through support for collaboration and marketing.

Eggs

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what checks are being carried out on eggs and egg products entering the UK to identify suspected illegal eggs from conventional battery cages; how many suspected illegal eggs or egg products have been identified by such checks; and what happened to any suspected illegal eggs or egg products.

David Heath: Risk based surveillance continues to be carried out by officials from the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency, Scottish Government egg marketing inspectors and officials from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Northern Ireland on imports of shell egg (Class A eggs) from other member states to check they have been produced in compliance with the conventional cage ban. Origin details are checked against member states' lists of compliant premises and using ultra violet light analysis to identify batches of caged eggs that are not from an enriched cage environment. This action, coupled with the pressure on importers from their customers to ensure that they are provided with eggs from hens reared in a legal environment, continues to act as a real deterrent to such imports.
	In total, 116 batches of imported shell eggs have been checked by inspectors since the conventional cage ban came into force on 1 January 2012. None of these has been found to be non-compliant. If they had been, the eggs would have been disposed of accordingly, as an animal by-product or been sent for processing (i.e. treated as Class B eggs) if, indeed, any UK processors would accept them. The UK's full enforcement strategy is set out in the written ministerial statement of 6 December 2011, Official Report, columns 15-19WS.
	Unlike for shell eggs, there is no provision in legislation to prohibit the marketing of Class B eggs used in processing which have been produced in non-compliant conventional cages. This is the reason why we worked closely with the food industry at the end of last year to persuade retailers, food manufacturers, food service companies and processors to sign up to a voluntary pledge to not stock or source conventional caged eggs. In addition, non-compliant member states' action plans include the commitment that eggs from conventional cages can only go for processing in the member state of origin and cannot be exported. These egg products can then be used only in food products or industrial products manufactured within the member state of origin and only these food products can then be exported. This measure has proved very successful.
	We continue to discuss compliance with the conventional cage ban with member states and the Commission at every opportunity. We wish to see the rest of Europe come into compliance as swiftly as possible.

Floods: Insurance

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress he has made in establishing a successor arrangement to the Statement of Principles on the provision of flood insurance which expires on 30 June 2013.

Richard Benyon: Since taking office the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson), has joined me in meeting representatives from the insurance industry, continuing the negotiations that his predecessor started. Together we are considering a number of options to address the availability and affordability of home insurance in flood risk areas. Discussions with the industry continue to be positive and further announcements will be forthcoming in due course.

Government Departments: Milk

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will publish the price paid for milk by Government procurement services; and whether the price paid for such milk is below the cost of production where sourced.

David Heath: My predecessor, the right hon. Member for South East Cambridgeshire (Mr Paice), wrote to all Government Departments on 27 July 2012 to establish the position in central Government on the procurement of milk. Responses were clear that Government Departments are not directly involved in milk purchasing. Private companies are contracted to provide catering services to staff and each contract must meet the mandatory Government Buying Standards (GBS) for Food and Catering Services. Companies declined to say how much they pay their suppliers for milk on commercial sensitivity grounds.

Horses: Databases

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether his Department has assessed the potential effects of the closure of the National Equine Database on the response to any future outbreak of equine disease.

David Heath: The National Equine Database (NED) does not support equine disease control strategies. It does not contain horse location data, nor does it record animal movement data, and is therefore of very limited use in the event of disease incursion.

Milk

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what indicators will be used to monitor the effectiveness of the voluntary code on contractual relationships between milk buyers and dairy farmers.

David Heath: The dairy industry code includes a formal process to review its effectiveness and compliance levels. These are matters for the industry itself to judge.

Reservoirs: Safety

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he plans to publish revised guidance on reservoir safety; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: The Institution of Civil Engineers, working with the Environment Agency is reviewing both ‘A guide to the Reservoirs Act 1975’ and ‘Floods and reservoir safety, 3rd edition’.
	The review of ‘A guide to the Reservoirs Act 1975’ is focused on changes to the legislation and will be completed once the amendments set out in schedule 4 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 have been commenced.
	The review of ‘Floods and reservoir safety, 3rd edition’ is focusing on technical matters, and will take current guidance and research and relevant changes to UK reservoirs legislation into account. The review was commissioned in August 2011 with an explicit target timescale of two years, subject to consideration of a detailed programme and budget. We are working with the institution's working group to achieve publication as soon as possible.

Rural Areas: Broadband

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how many applications his Department has received to the Rural Community Broadband Fund; and how many of those applications were successful;
	(2)  how much has been awarded to each successful community under the Rural Community Broadband Fund.

Richard Benyon: Round one of the Rural Community Broadband Fund closed on 31 January, with 39 expressions of interest received. Of these, 16 have been endorsed with conditions and invited to develop full applications, with a total value of grant requested of £4,998,294.
	An additional five separate applications were submitted ahead of the formal launch of the fund from communities in Cumbria as part of a pilot to enable DEFRA to test the processes under the fund with a total grant request of £836,400. Of these, two have so far been approved with pre-contract conditions, with a grant request of £175,000.
	Round two closed on 6 July. A total of 46 expressions of interest were received, of which seven were resubmissions from round one. The total value of grant requested was £14,170,779. Decisions from the round two appraisal process are expected to be notified in late September.
	For those expressions of interest that are endorsed to proceed to full application stage, the selected applicants are asked to submit a full application providing the detail of the project (including a business plan). No funding will be committed to a project until a full application has been received, appraised, and approved. No funding has yet been awarded under the Rural Community Broadband Fund.
	A third round is likely to open early in January 2013.

HEALTH

Asthma

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure that NHS National Prescribing Centre advice relating to asthma is being implemented consistently across the NHS.

Norman Lamb: The National Prescribing Centre (NPC) became part of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence in April 2011.
	The NPC has produced a number of pieces of advice relating to asthma. This advice is not mandatory and it is for national health service organisations to decide how to use it to support local work to improve services.

Dementia: Worcestershire

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding he has allocated for support and treatment of people diagnosed with dementia in Worcestershire in each of the next three years.

Norman Lamb: Improving the quality of care for people with dementia and their carers is a priority for the Government. We continue to support implementation of the dementia strategy and are making additional funding available over the course of the current spending review period. The funding has been included in primary care trust (PCT) revenue allocations and will in future be allocated to the National Health Service Commissioning Board.
	It is for PCTs to decide how best to deliver the dementia strategy as set out in the NHS Operating Framework. This includes determining how much of their total allocation to spend on commissioning dementia services.

Heart Diseases: Children

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on the findings of the Safe and Sustainable Review of Children's Congenital Heart Services.

Anna Soubry: The Safe and Sustainable Review of Children's Congenital Heart Services was a clinically led, national health service review independent of Government. However, the Government share the review's aim to continue improving these services for children now and in the future.

NHS: Private Patients

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much income NHS trusts and foundation trusts earned from the treatment of private patients in each of the last five years.

Daniel Poulter: The consolidated figures for private patient income of national health service foundation trusts and NHS trusts are provided in the following table.
	The most recent financial year for which figures for NHS trusts are available is 2010-11. Figures for 2011-12 will become available in October once the Department's annual report and accounts are laid before Parliament.
	Where an NHS trust obtains foundation trust status part way through any financial year, it will submit two sets of accounts for the parts of the year it operated as an NHS trust and as a foundation trust.
	
		
			 Financial year Private patient income across all NHS trusts (£ million) Number of NHS trusts submitting consolidated accounts in each financial year Private patient income across all NHS foundation trusts (£ million) Number of NHS foundation trusts submitting consolidated accounts in each financial year 
			 2011-12 n/a n/a 304 143 
			 2010-11 176 116 261 136 
			 2009-10 190 121 224 129 
			 2008-09 227 149 190 115 
			 2007-08 238 178 165 89

Psychiatry: Greater London

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) medical and (b) non-medical staff there were in the psychiatry group of specialties in the NHS London area, by primary care trust on 31 July in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement.

Daniel Poulter: The numbers of staff employed in each specified category as at 30 September in the years 2010 and 2011 are shown in the following tables. Data for 2012 are not currently available and will be published in spring 2013.
	
		
			 NHS Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS): Medical staff within the Psychiatry group of specialties by Organisation in London SHA, as at 30 September each year 
			 headcount 
			  2010 2011 
			 London Strategic Health Authority 2,377 2,329 
			    
			 Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust 2 2 
			 Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust 223 217 
			 Barts and the London NHS Trust 5 3 
			 Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust 141 136 
			 Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust 341 325 
			 Ealing Hospital NHS Trust 4 8 
			 Ealing PCT 1 0 
			 East London NHS Foundation Trust 292 272 
			 Enfield PCT 0 0 
			 Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust _ 2 
			 Great Ormond Street Hospital For Children NHS Trust 14 14 
			 Greenwich Teaching PCT 0 3 
			 Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust 5 3 
			 Haringey Teaching PCT 3 0 
			 Harrow PCT 4 ' 
			 Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 0 1 
			 Hounslow PCT 0 0 
			 Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust 0 0 
			 Islington PCT 14 0 
			 King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 3 0 
			 Kingston Hospital NHS Trust 0 2 
			 Kingston PCT 0 0 
			 Lewisham Healthcare NHS Trust 2 1 
			 Newham University Hospital NHS Trust 2 1 
			 North East London NHS Foundation Trust 167 173 
			 North West London Hospitals NHS Trust 1 1 
			 Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust 146 142 
			 Richmond and Twickenham PCT 2 2 
			 Royal Brampton And Harefield NHS Trust 0 0 
			 Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust 6 4 
			 South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust 441 446 
			 South London Healthcare NHS Trust 2 0 
			 South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust 240 246 
			 St George's Healthcare NHS Trust 3 5 
			 Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust 52 52 
			 University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 4 5 
			 West London Mental Health NHS Trust 264 252 
			 West Middlesex University NHS Trust 0 0 
			 Whipps Cross University Hospital NHS Trust 2 2 
			 Whittington Hospital NHS Trust 0 17 
			 Your Healthcare 6 5 
			 Data Quality: The NHS Information Centre for health and social care seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data but responsibility for data accuracy lies with the organisations providing the data. Methods are continually being updated to improve data quality. Where changes impact on figures already published, this is assessed but unless it is significant at national level figures are not changed. Impact at detailed or local level is footnoted in relevant analyses. Notes: 1. Due to the new headcount methodology introduced in 2010, headcount totals are unlikely to equal the sum of components. 2. A few NHS organisations existed within the ESR database with small numbers of staff as a result of the impact of Transforming Community Services and the resultant system mergers and demergers which were still ongoing at the time of the 2011 census. Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre Medical and Dental Workforce Census 
		
	
	
		
			 NHS hospital and community health services: Qualified Scientific, Therapeutic and Technical staff in the Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy areas of work in the London Strategic Health Authority area by organisation as at 30 September each specified year 
			 headcount 
			  2010 2011 
			  Clinical psychology Psycho-therapy Clinical psychology Psycho-therapy 
			 London Strategic Health Authority area 2,360 771 2,230 793 
			      
			 Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust 3 0 2 0 
			 Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust 0 0 1 0 
			 Barnet PCT 1 2 1 0 
			 Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust 146 45 150 41 
			 Barts and the London NHS Trust 15 0 62 1 
			 Brent Teaching PCT 5 0 0 0 
			 Bromley PCT 1 0 2 0 
			 ¦Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust 166 22 120 37 
			 Camden PCT 5 4 3 1 
			 Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust 287 92 294 80 
			 Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust 0 0 14 25 
			 City and Hackney Teaching PCT 65 0 1 0 
			 Croydon Health Services NHS Trust 5 2 5 2 
			 Croydon PCT 0 0 0 0 
			 Ealing Hospital NHS Trust 0 0 9 0 
			 Ealing PCT 18 6 16 5 
			 East London NHS Foundation Trust 107 88 140 103 
			 Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust 7 0 7 0 
			 Great Ormond Street Hospital For Children NHS Trust 57 9 61 10 
			 Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust 33 4 33 4 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham PCT 2 0 2 0 
			 Haringey Teaching PCT' 7 29 0 0 
			 Harrow PCT 5 0 0 0 
			 Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 6 2 66 1 
			 Hounslow PCT 0 0 0 0 
			 Islington PCT 68 17 0 0 
			 Kensington and Chelsea PCT 10 19 0 0 
			 King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 7 0 10 1 
			 Kingston Hospital NHS Trust 3 0 3 0 
		
	
	
		
			 Kingston PCT 0 0 0 0 
			 Newham PCT 29 0 0 0 
			 North East London NHS Foundation Trust 147 91 138 87 
			 North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust 0 2 0 3 
			 North West London Hospitals NHS Trust 5 1 7 1 
			 Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust 168 45 170 52 
			 Richmond and Twickenham PCT 5 0 4 0 
			 Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust 0 0 0 0 
			 Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust 24 4 34 9 
			 Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust 6 1 4 1 
			 South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust 481 59 385 84 
			 South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust 196 50 189 45 
			 St George's Healthcare NHS Trust 23 1 21 1 
			 Sutton and Merton PCT 3 0 0 0 
			 Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust 73 135 60 136 
			 Tower Hamlets PCT 53 1 0 1 
			 University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 24 0 52 1 
			 Wandsworth PCT 0 0 1 0 
			 West London Mental Health NHS Trust 131 59 128 50 
			 Westminster PCT 0 1 0 0 
			 Whittington Hospital NHS Trust 0 0 66 31 
			 Your Healthcare 7 0 7 0 
			 Data Quality: The Health and Social Care Information Centre seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data but responsibility for data accuracy lies with the organisations providing the data. Methods are continually being updated to improve data quality where changes impact on figures already published. This is assessed but unless it is significant at national level figures are not changed. Impact at detailed or local level is footnoted in relevant analyses. Notes: 1. Headcount totals are unlikely to equal the sum of components. 2. The new headcount methodology from 2010 onwards is not fully comparable with previous years data due to improvements that make it a more stringent count of absolute staff numbers. Further Information on the headcount methodology is available in the Census publication here: http://www.ic.nhs.uk/webfiles/publications/010_Workforce/nhsstaff0010/Census_Bulletin_March_2011_Final.pdf 3. 2012 annual census data are not yet available, and are due to be published in the spring. Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre Non-Medical Workforce Census.

Social Services: Greater London

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many qualified scientific, therapeutic and technical staff based in social services were employed by the NHS in London by (a) primary care trusts and (b) hospitals in 31 July (i) 2010, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Daniel Poulter: The numbers of staff employed in each specified category as at 30 September in the years 2010 and 2011 are shown in the following table. Data for 2012 are not currently available and will be published in spring 2013.
	
		
			 NHS hospital and community health services: Qualified scientific, therapeutic and technical staff in the social services area of work in the London strategic health authority area by organisation as at 30 September in 2010 and 2011 
			 Headcount 
			  2010 2011 
			 London strategic health authority area 198 238 
			    
			 Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust 1 — 
			 Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust 38 50 
			 Barts and the London NHS Trust 3 3 
			 Brent Teaching PCT — — 
			 Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust 10 7 
			 Camden PCT 3 3 
			 Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust 21 30 
			 Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust — 2 
			 City and Hackney Teaching PCT 1 — 
			 Ealing Hospital NHS Trust — 2 
			 Ealing PCT 1 — 
			 East London NHS Foundation Trust — 5 
			 Great Ormond Street Hospital For Children NHS Trust 2 2 
			 Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust — 2 
			 Haringey Teaching PCT 10 — 
			 Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust — 1 
			 Islington PCT — — 
			 Kensington and Chelsea PCT 2 — 
			 King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 6 8 
			 Lambeth PCT 1 — 
			 North East London NHS Foundation Trust 3 15 
			 Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust 18 17 
			 Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust 2 2 
			 Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust 4 5 
			 Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust 2 2 
			 South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust — 14 
			 South London Healthcare NHS Trust 1 1 
			 South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust 28 13 
			 St George's Healthcare NHS Trust 1 1 
		
	
	
		
			 Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust 31 26 
			 University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 3 3 
			 Wandsworth PCT — — 
			 West London Mental Health NHS Trust 6 7 
			 Whittington Hospital NHS Trust — 17 
			 Notes: 1. Social services staff are defined in the Non-Medical Workforce Census as former local authority social care staff who may be employed by PCTs and care trusts. These are staff who need to be (or work directly with) qualified social services staff to do their jobs within the organisation. For example social or youth workers, day care advisers, child protection officers, family placement officers, rehabilitation staff, or handicapped service workers. (Note that this list is not exhaustive). 2. The new headcount methodology from 2010 onwards is not fully comparable with previous years’ data due to improvements that make it a more stringent count of absolute staff numbers. Further information on the headcount methodology is available in the Census publication here: http://www.ic.nhs.uk/webfiles/publications/010_Workforce/nhsstaff0010/Census_Bulletin_March_2011_Final.pdf 2012 annual census data is not yet available, and is due to be published in the spring. Data Quality: The Health and Social Care Information Centre seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data but responsibility for data accuracy lies with the organisations providing the data. Methods are continually being updated to improve data quality where changes impact on figures already published. This is assessed but unless it is significant at national level, figures are not changed. Impact at detailed or local level is footnoted in relevant analyses. Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre Non-Medical Workforce Census.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been issued with antisocial behaviour orders for noise pollution in each of the last five years.

Jeremy Browne: The information requested is not held centrally, and could be collated only at disproportionate cost.

Asylum: Deportation

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many UK Border Agency chartered flights deporting failed asylum seekers were less than (a) 25, (b) 50, (c) 75 and (d) 100 per cent full in (i) 2009, (ii) 2010, (iii) 2011 and (iv) 2012 to date.

Mark Harper: The UK Border Agency's charter flights carry those individuals who have no lawful basis of stay in the United Kingdom. This includes, but is not limited to, failed asylum applicants and the data reflect all categories of returnees.
	The following table shows the capacity of all UK Border Agency charter flights between 2009 and 2012 to date:
	
		
			 Number 
			  2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 Flights with less than 25% capacity 0 1 0 0 
			 Flights with less than 50% capacity 10 1 1 0 
			 Flights with less than 75% capacity 11 9 8 8 
			 Flights with less than 100% capacity 25 14 10 4 
			 Flights with 100% capacity 22 33 20 7 
		
	
	The UK Border Agency strives for 100% utilisation of its chartered return flights. It is sometimes the case that flights depart under capacity due to reasons which include, but are not limited to, last minute legal interventions and logistical and security constraints.
	Figures quoted are not provided under National Statistics protocols and have been derived from local management information. They are therefore provisional and subject to change.

Asylum: Deportation

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what agreements the UK Border Agency has in place with recipient countries, limiting the number of failed asylum seekers who can be deported from the UK at one time, by country and agreement.

Mark Harper: Chartered repatriation flights are the subject of ongoing negotiations with receiving countries. Negotiations around capacity limitations and charters more generally are diplomatically sensitive and release of this information may jeopardise the UK Border Agency's longer term ability to use these flights and, therefore, to maintain an effective immigration control.

Asylum: Deportation

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost per person was of deporting failed asylum seekers in each year since 2008.

Mark Harper: The UK Border Agency does not store data in a form where they could be analysed to provide this information except at disproportionate cost.
	UK Border Agency annual accounts can be viewed on the UK Border Agency website:
	www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk
	A copy has also been placed in the House Library.

Asylum: Yorkshire and the Humber

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what contractual issues caused G4S to replace United Property Management as her Department's housing subcontractor in Yorkshire and the Humber in June 2012; and which subcontractors are housing asylum seekers for G4S in (a) Yorkshire and (b) Wakefield.

Mark Harper: holding answer 14 September 2012
	The UK Border Agency has a contract with G4S for the provision of accommodation for asylum seekers but is not party to any contractual discussions between G4S and their sub-contractors. G4S and United Property Management could not reach an agreement and consequently G4S engaged with alternative contractors to provide accommodation. The UK Border Agency is satisfied that the contractors being used by G4S have the capability to provide fit and habitable accommodation for asylum seekers.
	In Yorkshire G4S have contractual arrangements in place with Live Management Group, Cascade, Target and the Citrus Group. Cascade will house asylum seekers in Wakefield, as will the Citrus Group, operating under the name 'Urban Housing,' should they agree with G4S to provide Initial Accommodation services in Wakefield.

Correspondence

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average time taken was by her Department to reply to correspondence from hon. Members and Peers in the last 12 months; and for what proportion of letters the time taken to send a response was longer than (a) one month, (b) six weeks, (c) two months, (d) three months and (e) six months in that period.

Mark Harper: The Home Office replied to 8,648 pieces of ministerial correspondence in the period from 1 August 2011 to 31 July 2012 with 74% responded to within 15 working days.
	The proportion and number of letters replied to within target and for the specific periods requested is as follows:
	
		
			  Percentage Number 
			 Within 15 day target 74 6,398 
			 15 days to one month 7.3 628 
			 One month to six weeks 6.4 554 
			 Six weeks to two months 3.7 322 
			 Two months to three months 4.5 390 
			 Three months to six months 4.1 356 
			 More than six months 0 0

Entry Clearances: Married People

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of spousal visa applications were determined within the UK Border Agency's six-month service standard in the latest period for which figures are available.

Mark Harper: holding answer 14 September 2012
	The UK Border Agency's standards say that it will process 95% of settlement applications within 12 weeks of the application date and 100% within 24 weeks of the application date.
	In the period January 2012 to June 2012, out of 18,439 spouse/civil partner applications 18,385 (99.7%) were resolved within six months.
	Please be aware that these data are based on management information. They are provisional and subject to change.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions since 2010 UK Border Agency officials have examined overseas student records at (a) Middlesex university, (b) university of North East London, (c) London Metropolitan university and (d) City university.

Mark Harper: holding answer 7 September 2012
	Since 2010 UK Border Agency officials have undertaken:
	(a) One visit to Middlesex university where overseas student records were examined.
	(b) No visits to the university of North East London as no such university exists on our register of sponsors.
	(c) Three visits to London Metropolitan university where overseas student records were examined.
	(d) No visits to the City university.

Extradition Review

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 11 June 2012, Official Report, column 73W, on Extradition Review, when she plans to respond to the review of the UK's extradition arrangements by Lord Justice Scott Baker.

Mark Harper: holding answer 11 September 2012
	The Government are still considering how to respond to what is a very detailed and complex review and the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May) will announce the Government's response shortly.

Human Trafficking

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which countries are the main sources of people being trafficked illegally into the UK; and what contact she has had with the Governments of these countries to discuss steps to end the trade.

Mark Harper: While we recognise the difficulties inherent in detecting human trafficking, data recorded by the national referral mechanism (NRM) suggests that the priority source countries for victims of human trafficking to the UK are Nigeria, Vietnam, Romania, China, and Slovakia. Other countries which also feature prominently in the data are Uganda, Albania, Czech Republic, Eritrea, and India. An assessment of the list of priority countries will be undertaken annually.
	Work has already begun to better understand the trafficking landscape in priority countries so that the UK can influence those countries to improve and strengthen their approach to tackling human trafficking. The UK has engaged with embassies and Foreign and Commonwealth Office (F&CO) posts to raise awareness of human trafficking and to better support anti-trafficking efforts.
	Human trafficking has been included as a priority in F&CO country business plans.

Human Trafficking: Children

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent estimate she has made of the number of trafficked children in the UK.

Mark Harper: Estimating the number of children trafficked into and within the UK is difficult owing to the hidden nature of this criminal activity. However data from successive reports by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) suggest there are approximately 300 child trafficking victims in the UK per annum (based on CEOP's Strategic Threat Assessment of Child Trafficking 2009 and 2010). In addition, CEOP's most recent Child Trafficking Update published in 2011 suggests there were 202 children identified as trafficked into and within the UK over the eight and a half month period from 1 January 2011 to 15 September 2011.
	Copies of the above publications are available in the House Library.

Immigration

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many and what proportion of applications from Romanian and Bulgarian nationals for registration certificates were outstanding for more than six months in each month since May 2010;
	(2)  how many staff were employed by the UK Border Agency Bulgaria and Romania Caseworking Unit on 1 June (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012;
	(3)  how many applications have been processed by the UK Border Agency Bulgaria and Romania Caseworking Unit in each month since May 2010.

Mark Harper: The data requested are not held in a format compatible with National Statistics protocols, or produced as part of the UK Border Agency's standard reports.
	However the UK Border Agency publishes immigration statistics on a quarterly and annual basis, a copy of which can be found in the Library of the House, and via the following page on the Home Office website:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/immigration-asylum-research/immigration-q2-2012/
	The number of staff employed by the UK Border Agency Bulgaria and Romania Caseworking Unit on 1 June 2010 was 30.26, 1 June 2011 was 37.67 and 1 June 2012 was 17.14, all full-time equivalents. Caseworkers are deployed to units according to work load.

Immigration

Mike Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applicants in Canada were denied pre-entry clearance to the UK in each of the last three years; and what the ethnicity was of those denied pre-entry clearance.

Mark Harper: Canadians only require entry clearance if coming here to work, settle or study for more than six months. The Home Office's published immigration statistics indicate that, in those visa categories, the number of Canadian nationals denied pre-entry clearance to the UK were:
	2009: 583
	2010: 354
	2011: 257
	The UK Border Agency does not hold information on the ethnicity of applicants.

Immigration

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress she has made on the introduction of risk-based border checks.

Mark Harper: Border Force is currently conducting a pilot of targeted measures to deal with children arriving in the UK as part of an accompanied and organised school group.

Immigration Controls: Heathrow Airport

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the additional contingency border staff to be deployed at Heathrow airport during the London 2012 Olympics will be transferred there from regional airports outside London.

Mark Harper: A small number of staff from ports outside the South East of England were deployed to Heathrow airport during the Olympic period. This included regional airports outside London.
	Volunteers from within Border Force formed a small number of the wider volunteer workforce that were deployed to Heathrow airport from across the UK.

Immigration Controls: Scotland

Russell Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration she has given to any need for border controls between an independent Scotland and the rest of the UK.

Mark Harper: holding answer 13 September 2012
	The UK Government's position is clear: Scotland is stronger in the UK and the UK is stronger with Scotland in it.
	It is the Scottish Government that is proposing independence and so it should set out clearly and transparently to the people of Scotland what the implications of leaving the UK will mean for people in Scotland and the hard choices that will have to be made.

London Metropolitan University

David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what meetings (a) Ministers in her Department, (b) officials in her Department and (c) officials from the UK Border Agency had with the Vice-Chancellor of London Metropolitan University between 1 July 2012 and 28 August 2012 to discuss the university's highly-trusted sponsor status.

Mark Harper: As the then Immigration Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Ashford (Damian Green), stated to the House on 3 September 2012, Official Report, column 25, the UK Border Agency has been working closely and continuously with London Metropolitan University since March 2012 to address its systemic issues.
	Home Office Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of international partners, as well as organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.

London Metropolitan University

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many alternative university places have been identified for non-EU students at London Metropolitan university by the task-force set up to advise them.

Mark Harper: The Government taskforce that has been created, includes representation from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), Universities UK, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), the UK Border Agency and the National Union of Students.
	The top priority for the taskforce is to ensure that all London Metropolitan university students are given the help and advice they need. The taskforce will do all it can to support those affected, including, if necessary helping existing overseas students to find places at other institutions where they can continue to study.
	UK Border Agency currently has staff members based in the Help Centre at London Metropolitan university to support and advise genuine non-EEA students.

London Metropolitan University

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many non-EU students at London Metropolitan University are known not to have legitimate status in the UK.

Mark Harper: Following a UK Border Agency compliance audit, 26 students were found to be attending London Metropolitan University without having current legitimate status in the UK. This was based on a pre-selected sample of 101 of the university's own files of students.

London Metropolitan University

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what checks the UK Border Agency is making on the immigration status of non-EU students at London Metropolitan University.

Mark Harper: The UK Border Agency checks the immigration status of all non-EEA students following receipt of an application for further leave to remain or when considering curtailment of their visa.

London Metropolitan University

David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the reasons were for the withdrawal of highly trusted sponsor status from London Metropolitan University; and if she will make a statement.

Mark Harper: London Metropolitan University held highly trusted sponsor (HTS) status and had submitted its annual renewal application to the UK Border Agency. Following the revocation of its standard sponsor licence, its HTS application was rejected as the university is no longer a licensed sponsor under Tier 4 of the Points Based System.
	As the then Immigration Minister my right hon. Friend the Member for Ashford (Damian Green), stated to the House on 3 September 2012, Official Report, column 26, the UK Border Agency has been working closely and continually with London Metropolitan University since March to address its systemic issues. In the most recent audit, the UK Border Agency found concerns in three specific areas: students studying without permission to be in this country, how international students are recruited, and the attendance monitoring of students. In those circumstances the UK Border Agency correctly felt that allowing London Metropolitan University to continue to sponsor and teach international students was not an option.

London Metropolitan University

David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what process is in place for London Metropolitan University to regain its highly trusted sponsor status.

Mark Harper: London Metropolitan University will be able to apply for a new Tier 4 sponsor licence six months after the date of the revocation of its previous licence. If it is successful it must hold a valid Tier 4 sponsor licence for 12 months before being eligible to apply for highly trusted sponsor status.

London Metropolitan University

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the UK Border Agency's examination of student records at London Metropolitan University since 2010, how many student files were examined; how many students whose files were examined did not have a Tier 4 or equivalent right to enter the UK; how many did not have appropriate English qualifications; and how many had not demonstrated attendance at their courses.

Mark Harper: holding answer 7 September 2012
	As the then Minister of State for Immigration my right hon. Friend the Member for Ashford (Damian Green), set out to the House on 3 September 2012, Official Report, column 26, in response to the hon. Member's urgent question, the UK Border Agency conducted a compliance visit at the London Metropolitan University in March 2012, during which serious deficiencies in the university's arrangements were identified.
	The UK Border Agency selected 101 students whose leave to remain had already been refused—25% of these students were found to have studied without permission at London Met University.
	A further 600 student files were audited and it was found that over 60% of those sampled raised ongoing concerns in three specific areas: (a) students studying without permission to be in country, (b) the way international students are recruited, and (c) the attendance monitoring of students.

London Metropolitan University

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions in the last two years UK Border Agency officials have visited London Metropolitan university; and who they met on those visits.

Mark Harper: holding answer 7 September 2012
	London Metropolitan university has been visited on four occasions over a total of eight days in the last two years.
	During those visits UK Border Agency officials met with staff from the university and its legal representatives. The senior staff who were met were the vice chancellor, the deputy chief executive, the deputy academic registrar and the director of the international office.

London Metropolitan University

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many London Metropolitan University students have been removed from the UK to date.

Mark Harper: Following the application for Judicial Review lodged by London Metropolitan University on 11 September 2012, this question is now subject to the sub judice rule and I am unable to provide an answer.

London Metropolitan University

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many London Metropolitan University students have been identified as not having leave to remain in the UK.

Mark Harper: Following the application for Judicial Review lodged by London Metropolitan University on 11 September 2012, this question is now subject to the sub judice rule and I am unable to provide an answer.

London Metropolitan University

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many universities have been contacted by the UK Border Agency in relation to overseas students studying at London Metropolitan University; and how many such universities have offered to accept students whose course has been discontinued.

Mark Harper: holding answer 11 September 2012
	The UK Border Agency is part of the Government taskforce created to assist London Metropolitan University to find alternative education for legitimate overseas students. The taskforce is establishing a clearing house that will contact other educational institutions. It is the role of the clearing house to contact universities, not the UK Border Agency.

London Metropolitan University

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many students from London Metropolitan University have been identified as not having leave to remain in the UK; and how many of these have been removed.

Mark Harper: Following the application for Judicial Review lodged by London Metropolitan University on 11 September 2012, this question is now subject to the sub judice rule and I am unable to provide an answer.

Olympic Games 2012: Security

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what provision of additional UK Border Force staff will be deployed at Eurotunnel and Eurostar terminals and stations during the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.

Mark Harper: To ensure the integrity and security of the UK border Her Majesty's Government cannot comment on the numbers deployed at specific ports.
	Contingency forces of appropriately trained staff were deployed to the border during the Olympic and Paralympic period to help ensure passengers are processed as quickly as possible.
	These deployments were supported by the implementation of a moratorium on annual leave for Border Force officers during the main Olympic and Paralympic period.

Police: Vehicles

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) casualties and (b) deaths were associated with road traffic accidents involving police vehicles in each of the last five years.

Damian Green: holding answer 14 September 2012
	Figures for the number of casualties resulting from road traffic collisions involving police vehicles in emergency responses or pursuit and resulting in injuries to the police or members of the public were collected by the Home Office until 2010.
	Figures for numbers of police-related road traffic fatalities are compiled by the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
	The available data are presented in the following table:
	
		
			 Casualties, classified as serious or other injury, excluding fatalities, resulting from those road traffic accidents during immediate/emergency response, England and Wales, 2007-08 to 2011-12 
			  Number 
			 2007-08 1,331 
			 2008-09 1,238 
			 2009-10 1,227 
			 2010-11 (1)— 
			 2011-12 (1)— 
			 (1) Not collected. Collection ceased following Sir David Normington's review 'Reducing the Data Burden on Police Forces in England and Wales'. Notes: 1. In 2007-08, the following forces have not provided any data for the number of road traffic collisions involving police vehicles in emergency/pursuit involving injury: Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Cleveland, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Humberside, City of London and West Midlands. 2. In 2008-09 the following forces have not provided any data for the number of road traffic collisions involving police vehicles in emergency/pursuit involving injury: Cambridgeshire, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Humberside, North Yorkshire and West Midlands. 3. In 2009-10 the following forces have not provided any data for the number of road traffic collisions involving police vehicles in emergency/pursuit involving injury: Cambridgeshire, Derbyshire and Humberside. Source: Home Office ADR 411 received from police forces. These figures are provisional and have not been confirmed with police forces. 
		
	
	
		
			 Police-related road traffic fatalities(1), England and Wales, 2007-08 to 2011-12 
			  Number 
			 2007-08 24 
			 2008-09 40 
			 2009-10 29 
		
	
	
		
			 2010-11 26 
			 2011-12 18 
			 (1) Includes deaths of motorists, cyclists or pedestrians arising from police pursuits, police vehicles responding to emergency calls and other police-related activity. Does not include deaths following a road traffic incident where the police have attended immediately after the event as an emergency service. Source: Independent Police Complaints Commission. Published on its website at: www.ipcc.co.uk

Departmental Contracts

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the name is of each company with which her Department has a contract; what the monetary value of each such contract is; and what is provided to her Department under the terms of the contract.

Mark Harper: The Home Department publishes details of all contracts that have a value of over £25,000 on its website, including the company name, value of the contract and what service is provided.
	Details of contracts above the value of £10,000 to private sector contractors are published on the Contracts Finder website:
	www.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk
	To collate the data for all contracts under the value of £10,000 would incur disproportionate cost.

Public Order Act 1986

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to respond to the consultation on reform of section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986.

Damian Green: The Government are carefully considering all the views received during the consultation and we will issue a response in due course.

Racial Harassment: Public Transport

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many reports of racial abuse on public transport there were in Lancashire in each of the last five years.

Damian Green: Figures are collected by the Home Office on the number of racist incidents reported to Lancashire Constabulary, and those for 2007-08 to 2011-12 are given in the following table.
	It is not possible to provide a further breakdown on the number of reports of racist incidents on public transport, as this level of information is not collected centrally by the Home Office. The figures provided exclude Lancashire incidents reported to the British transport police, as the Home Office does not collect these data.
	
		
			 Number of racist incidents(1) reported to Lancashire Constabulary, 2007-08 to 2011-12(2) 
			  Number of incidents 
			 2007-08 2,452 
			 2008-09 2,230 
			 2009-10 2,132 
			 2010-11 1,735 
			 2011-12 1,726 
			 (1 )A racist incident is defined as any incident, including any crime, which is perceived by the victim or any other person to be motivated by a hostility or prejudice based on a person's race or perceived race. (2 )Financial years 1 April to 31 March inclusive.

Scotland

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date she last had a bilateral meeting with the Secretary of State for Scotland; and what matters were discussed.

Mark Harper: Home Office Ministers have regular meetings with ministerial colleagues and others as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.

Sexual Offences: Foreign Travel Orders

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how (a) she and (b) the Association of Chief Police Officers will advise police forces on the use of foreign travel orders for sex offenders;
	(2)  if she will review the effectiveness of legislation aimed at preventing and prosecuting sexual offences against children overseas by UK sex offenders.

Jeremy Browne: The Sexual Offences Act 2003 contains a number of civil preventative orders to provide the police with a range of tools to manage the behaviour of sex offenders, including Foreign Travel Orders (FTOs).
	FTOs are intended to prevent offenders, with convictions for sexual offences (under Schedule 3 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003) against children, from travelling abroad where there is evidence that they intend to commit sexual offences against children, while abroad.
	The Home Office has published “Guidance on Part 2 of The Sexual Offences Act 2003”, which includes guidance on Foreign Travel Orders, for the police and other practitioners. The National Policing Improvement Agency, as part of their Initial Police Learning and Development Training Programme, provides information and training to public protection unit staff on Foreign Travel Orders.
	The Government continually review the effectiveness of legislation and are doing everything they can to tighten the law on sex offenders and protect children both in the UK and abroad. As a consequence, we recently introduced new measures under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, requiring all registered sex offenders to inform the police of all foreign travel. This information enables the police, where appropriate, to inform other jurisdictions that a sex offender is intending to travel to their area, further enhancing the tools to prevent crime and increase the effectiveness of the management of the risk of harm to the public posed by sex offenders.
	We will continue to monitor and review all the available tools and powers in this area to ensure the police and practitioners can robustly manage offenders and prevent serious sexual crimes, both in the UK and overseas.

Torture

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to issue new guidance and training for the implementation of Rule 35 on the process to identify and enable the release of detainees with independent evidence of torture; if she will consider holding an independent audit to review the outcomes and quality of reports and responses over a three month period and to publish a report by December 2012; and if she will make a statement.

Mark Harper: Existing procedures and safeguards are being improved by a range of measures. These include the provision of improved written instructions, including a revised Asylum Casework Instruction and Detention Services Order, and training for medical practitioners and healthcare staff working in immigration removal centres and case owners. These measures are under development and the written instructions will be published shortly. After full implementation of these revised measures, the UK Border Agency will review compliance, quality and performance through an internal audit. The results of the audit, once carried out, will be published on the UK Border Agency website:
	www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk

TREASURY

Air Passenger Duty

Lyn Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how much revenue air passenger duty has raised in each of the last two years;
	(2)  by what method his Department assesses the effect of air passenger duty on the airline industry and holidaymakers;
	(3)  what recent discussions his Department has had with the airline industry about the effect of air passenger duty.

Sajid Javid: Air passenger duty (APD) receipts were £2,155 million in 2010-11 and £2,607 million in 2011-12.
	The Government undertook a consultation on air passenger duty last year, which generated considerable views and evidence on the impacts of APD. The consultation received over 500 responses from a wide range of stakeholders, including airlines and holidaymakers.
	In addition to meetings held as part of last year's consultation, Treasury Ministers and officials continue to engage routinely with the airline industry to hear their views on issues of concern to the sector.

Alcoholic Drinks: Prices

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the oral answer by the Economic Secretary to the Treasury to the hon. Member for Lincoln (Karl McCartney) of 11 September 2012, Official Report, column 125, on beer duty, for what reasons he expects the introduction of minimum unit pricing of alcohol to benefit the pub industry; and if he will make a statement.

Sajid Javid: The Government will publish their assessment of the impact of minimum unit pricing alongside the Alcohol Strategy consultation. This will consider the impact of a minimum unit price on a number of factors including on the Exchequer, crime, health, consumption and businesses, including the pub industry.

Correspondence

Lyn Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average time was for his Department to reply to correspondence from hon. Members and Peers in the last 12 months; and for what proportion of letters it took longer than (a) one month, (b) six weeks, (c) two months, (d) three months and (e) six months for a response to be sent in the last 12 months.

Sajid Javid: The average response time for replying to correspondence received at the Treasury from hon. Members and Peers in the last 12 months was 26 calendar days or 18 working days.
	The proportion of letters that took longer than the following time frames:
	
		
			  Proportion of letters (percentage) 
			 (a) One month 10.8 
			 (b) Six weeks 10.3 
			 (c) Two months 6.6 
			 (d)Three months 1.4 
			 (e) Six months 0

Exchange Rates

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment his Department has made of the effects of a stronger pound on growth in the services sector.

Sajid Javid: The Bank of England's Sterling Effective Exchange Rate Index fell significantly during 2007-08, and it remains more than 20 per cent below its 2007 peak. Since the peak in the value of sterling in 2007 Q1, service sector output has risen by 2.6 per cent, exports of services have increased by 21 per cent in value terms and the balance of trade in services has improved.
	The Government recognise that UK businesses need an environment which helps them compete in a global market place. Around 18 per cent of UK services output is exported. The Government have announced a major package of reforms to improve the UK's competitiveness, including a reduction in the rate of corporation tax and burden of regulation. The Government have been able to use their hard won fiscal credibility to launch “UK Guarantees” to dramatically accelerate major infrastructure investment and provide support to UK exporters. The Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) is also designed to boost lending to households and businesses. The World Economic Forum confirmed earlier this month that the UK has improved its global competitiveness ranking for the second year in a row, from tenth to eighth in the world.

Licensing

Richard Fuller: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what permits and licences his Department and its public bodies issue to businesses.

Sajid Javid: The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is an independent non-governmental body which is accountable to the Treasury. The FSA does not issue any permits or licences to businesses.
	However, under the Financial Services and Markets Act (FSMA), any firm or person who carries on a regulated activity in the UK must either be authorised by the FSA or exempt, any person carrying out a so-called controlled function must also be authorised.
	The FSA sets out the regulated activities for which it grants permission, and the controlled functions relating to regulated activity, in its Perimeter Guidance Manual, available at:
	http://fsahandbook.info/FSA/html/handbook/PERG/2
	The FSA sets out the controlled functions that require authorisation in its regulatory processes manual, available at:
	http://fsahandbook.info/FSA/html/handbook/SUP/10
	The FSA also authorises and registers some firms under powers other than FSMA. Under the Payment Services Directive 2009 and the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 the FSA authorises firms to do business—guidance on those businesses that require these authorisations can be found in the FSA Handbook:
	http://fsahandbook.info/FSA/html/handbook/PERG/15/3
	http://fsahandbook.info/FSA/html/handbook/PERG/3A/4
	The FSA also acts as a registrar for the purposes of;
	the Building Societies Act 1986;
	the Credit Unions Act 1979;
	the Friendly Societies Acts 1974 & 1992; and
	the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1965.
	Where the FSA acts as a registrar organisations must be registered with the FSA in order to carry out their activities.

Manufacturing Industries

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what research his Department has undertaken to determine which monetary policy would be most conducive to growth in the UK manufacturing sector.

Sajid Javid: The independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of England has operational responsibility for setting monetary policy in order to meet the inflation target in the medium term. Monetary policy is a macroeconomic tool used to affect the economy as a whole rather than to target support towards specific sectors.

Departmental Contracts

Luciana Berger: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the name is of each company with which his Department has a contract; what the monetary value of each such contract is; and what is provided to his Department under the terms of the contract.

Sajid Javid: Details of HM Treasury contracts, in alphabetical order by supplier, will be deposited in the Library of the House.
	HM Treasury does not hold the monetary values for all contracts centrally, and the information for all contracts could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Information on estimated annual contract spend for each contract is provided in the response.
	Since January 2011, central Government Departments have been required to publish information on the contracts they award on “Contracts Finder”:
	www.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk/
	Contracts awarded prior to January 2011 are not included.

Sole Traders

Nick de Bois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many investigations were carried out by HM Revenue and Customs into sole traders with a turnover of less than £50,000 per annum in (a) 2007, (b) 2008, (c) 2009, (d) 2010 and (e) 2011.

David Gauke: The information requested is not available in this format. HM Revenue & Customs compliance activity—from policy making, through support and education, to audits and investigations—covers all aspects of compliance behaviour from error through to organised criminal attack.
	HMRC targets its compliance activity based on risk rather than by direct reference to the legal entity or turnover. Therefore, this information could be collated only at disproportionate cost.

Taxation: Rates and Rating

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the cost to the Exchequer of introducing a 10 per cent income tax band.

David Gauke: There is a 10% starting rate tax band for savings which applies to the first £2,710 of savings income.
	The cost to the Exchequer of introducing a 10% income tax band for other forms of income would depend upon the threshold of the 10% income tax band.

VAT

George Eustice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate his Department has made of the number of VAT-registered businesses whose turnover was below the VAT threshold in the last financial year for which records are available.

David Gauke: In 2010-11, there were 839,000 VAT-registered businesses whose turnover was below the VAT threshold.

VAT: Higher Education

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the possible costs of an exemption from VAT for commercial for-profit universities; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: No estimate has yet been made. However, HMRC published a consultation document on this matter on 12 September. The Government will consider the position in the light of responses to the consultation.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

British Antarctic Survey

Neil Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he plans to take to retain the UK's presence, scientific work and exploration in the Antarctic in the light of the forthcoming change in the status of the British Antarctic Survey.

David Willetts: There is at present no agreed plan to change the status of the British Antarctic Survey. On 7 June 2012 the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) announced that it is looking at merging the scientific and logistics management of the British Antarctic Survey and the National Oceanography Centre. A consultation of stakeholders has been launched on the NERC website this month, with the NERC Council reaching a decision in due course.
	Any changes would have no effect on the UK's commitment to scientific excellence in Antarctica nor on the existing footprint of scientific bases and research ships.

Chemical Industry

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has to (a) maintain and (b) enhance the competitiveness of the UK chemical industry; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Fallon: The Government recognise the importance to the UK of a vibrant and competitive chemicals industry and its role in the transition to a low carbon economy. This Department is working closely with the sector as it develops an industry-led strategy for maintaining and enhancing the competitiveness of the UK chemicals industry, which the Government will seek to support. This Department awaits the industry's conclusions and recommendations.
	The Government can, and do play a role in creating the right environment to help UK companies to compete in global chemical value chains. Working with chemical business, the Government are taking steps to strengthen UK manufacturing's capability, ensuring a better business environment for chemical businesses that will address barriers to growth, encourage innovation and technology commercialisation, exports, business investment, and improve skills. Through initiatives like the Regional Growth Fund, Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative and the Employer Ownership Pilot, we are supporting investment in the UK chemical industry sector.

EU Grants and Loans

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his policy is on Annex V of the European Commission's proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund covered by the Common Strategic Framework and laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund and the Cohesion Fund (COM(2011)615); what his policy is on the proposed obligation on managing authorities of operational programmes of the Structural Funds and Cohesion Fund to display the EU flag; whether there has been any agreement between EU member states on the provisions proposed in this Annex; what the nature was of any such agreement; and what his policy is on any such agreement.

Michael Fallon: Negotiations among member states on Annex V of the Common Provisions Regulation (COM(2011)615) started during the Cypriot presidency in July. The UK has sought removal of unnecessary requirements which add an administrative burden, while seeking to retain transparency on how EU funds are spent. The UK has pushed for a relaxation of the requirement for managing authorities to display the EU flag all year round, both as this is an unnecessary administrative burden, and because it does not improve public information regarding how funds are spent on the ground. The UK believes it is more appropriate for managing authorities to display a sign or a plaque containing a factual statement on the function of the authority in administering the funds. Negotiations are ongoing and member states have yet to reach a common position.

Infrastructure

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his policy is on the financial transparency of companies which carry out large-scale Government-funded infrastructure programmes.

Michael Fallon: holding answer 13 September 2012
	EU procurement directives allow contracting authorities to ask economic operators to provide relevant information on their financial viability and on matters that could lead to mandatory or discretionary exclusion. This information provides financial transparency for contracting authorities, but is not made publicly available.
	Under the Companies Act 2006, financial information about UK companies is publicly available from Companies House:
	www.companieshouse.gov.uk

London Metropolitan University

David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 7 September 2012, Official Report, column 496W, on London Metropolitan University, what funding has been allocated to the Higher Education Funding Council for England Task Force established to help new and continuing London Metropolitan University students who have been affected by the UK Border Agency's decision to revoke the university's licence to sponsor non-EU students; and who has been appointed to it.

David Willetts: The taskforce is drawing on existing resources from within its membership and through UCAS, who are providing help to establish the clearing house that will be available to all affected students by 17 September 2012.
	We have created the London Met. Fund that will provide up to £2 million from existing budgets to allow affected students to meet additional costs they may incur by moving to another institution to finish their studies. This will meet some of the additional costs incurred by students who are required to transfer, including visa costs and discretionary payments to cover, for example, lost deposits on accommodation due to having to move somewhere else to study. The taskforce have also had many offers of help from all parts of the higher education sector.
	The taskforce under the chairmanship of Alan Langlands, the chief executive of the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), has a membership comprising the Deputy Vice Chancellor of London Metropolitan University, the chief executive of Universities UK, the President of the National Union of Students, and officials from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, UK Border Agency and HEFCE.

London Metropolitan University

David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 7 September 2012, Official Report, column 496W, on London Metropolitan University, on how many occasions he has met the Higher Education Funding Council for England Task Force established to help new and continuing London Metropolitan University students who have been affected by the UK Border Agency's decision to revoke the university's licence to sponsor non-EU students.

David Willetts: I have had no direct discussions with the Higher Education Funding Council for England Task Force; BIS is represented at official level. I am receiving regular updates on the progress that the taskforce is making.

London Metropolitan University

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what payments were made by the Higher Education Funding Council for England to London Metropolitan University in each of the last three years; and what re-payments have been received in respect of historic debt.

David Willetts: holding answer 11 September 2012
	The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) made the following payments to London Metropolitan University over the last three academic years:
	
		
			  £ million 
			 2009-10 63.8 
			 2010-11 68.4 
			 2011-12 56.7 
			 Total 188.9 
		
	
	During the same period the following reductions were applied to the university's grant by HEFCE in relation to a number of areas of activity:
	
		
			  £ million 
			 2009-10 9.8 
			 2010-11 5.9 
			 2011-12 16.3 
			 Total 32.0

Motor Vehicles: Disability

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with his European counterparts on EU regulations on vehicle adaptations.

Michael Fallon: I have not had recent discussions with my European counterparts on EU regulation of vehicle adaptations. Officials from Department for Transport are engaged in discussions through the Transport Working Group on the Commission's Roadworthiness Proposal. This proposal contains wording that has implications for vehicle adaption or modification. Officials are seeking clarification.

Motor Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will bring forward proposals to establish a catapult initiative for low-carbon vehicles; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: The Technology Strategy Board (TSB) is developing seven Catapult centres in the areas of High Value Manufacturing, Cell Therapy, Offshore Renewable Energy, Satellite Applications, Connected Digital Economy, Future Cities and Transport Systems. The TSB concluded that the best way to support the development of the low-carbon vehicle industry was by investing in existing capability such as the Low Carbon Vehicle Innovation platform.

Natural Environment Research Council

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessments of the outcomes of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)-funded research are used in determining the levels of Government funding for the NERC.

David Willetts: The allocation of funding to the Natural Environment Research Council from 2011-12 to 2014-15 was determined using the principles set out on pages 13-15 of "The Allocation of Science and Research Funding 2011/12 to 2014/15: investing in world-class science and research"(1) published in December 2010.
	(1) Available from:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/science/docs/a/10-1356-allocation-of-science-and-research-funding-2011-2015.pdf

Regional Development Agencies

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the redundancy and winding-up costs of the regional development agencies.

Michael Fallon: Redundancy costs for the eight regional development agencies (RDAs) outside London are estimated to be £60.7 million. This includes the cost of staff leaving on compulsory and voluntary terms. Redundancy payments have been made in accordance with the provisions of the civil service compensation scheme.
	Other winding-up costs are estimated to be £47.9 million. The largest single element is a £16.0 million payment to the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) pension scheme in respect of former RDA staff who are members of the scheme.

Scotland

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on what date he last had a bilateral meeting with the Secretary of State for Scotland; and what matters were discussed.

Jo Swinson: holding answer 6 September 2012
	The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), and the Secretary of State for Scotland, my right hon. Friend the Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk, meet regularly, including at the weekly Cabinet meeting, to discuss a range of topics. The last bilateral meeting between the two Secretaries of State took place in July 2012.

Zimbabwe

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to ensure the EU sanctions regime on Zimbabwe is applied.

Mark Simmonds: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.
	EU restrictive measures imposed on Zimbabwe consist of an arms embargo. prohibition on equipment that could be used for internal repression, a travel ban against designated individuals and an assets freeze on designated individuals and entities.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is responsible for setting policy on sanctions in general and on individual sanctions regimes, including the EU sanctions on Zimbabwe. Implementation of the measures against individuals and entities is carried out by the relevant competent authorities for each class of sanctions, namely BIS for export controls, UKBA for the travel ban and HMT for the assets freeze. The means of implementation are different for each, but are effected by a mixture of legislation and administrative procedures. A cross-Whitehall Sanctions Group, chaired by my officials, meets regularly to discuss policy on sanctions regimes and their effective implementation.

CABINET OFFICE

Charities: Asia

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent discussions he has had with the Charities Commission regarding the monitoring of registered charities that have been alleged to be funding orphanages and children's homes in countries such as India and Nepal that have facilitated the sexual abuse of children.

Nick Hurd: I have regular discussions with the Charity Commission (“the Commission”) on a range of topics. As a risk based regulator the Commission's powers of intervention are reserved for cases where there is clear and serious misconduct or maladministration within a charity leading to considerable harm to the charity or its beneficiaries which cannot be resolved by other means. If the hon. Member has any specific concerns about a registered charity, then I would encourage her to raise them directly with the Commission.

Crown Immunity

Andrew George: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will publish the Government's guidance on the application of Crown immunity.

Chloe Smith: There is no specific document providing general guidance on the application of Crown immunity. Legal advice is provided to Ministers on Crown immunity on a case-by-case basis. The subject of Crown immunity is touched upon in a variety of largely subject specific guidance available in the public domain.

Duchy of Cornwall

Andrew George: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what criteria and guidance he has offered to other Government Departments in cases where a Department is obliged to consult the Duchy of Cornwall before proceeding with primary legislation.

Chloe Smith: The Cabinet Office ‘Guide to Making Legislation’ provides advice to Government Departments on seeking the Prince of Wales’ Consent to Bills. The Office of the Parliamentary Counsel, which drafts Government Bills and provides advice on the procedural handling of Bills, also provides advice to Departments, on a Bill by Bill basis.

Government Departments: Milk

Mark Spencer: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what information his Department holds on the sources from which Government Departments procure milk for catering purposes;
	(2)  whether his Department has issued guidance to Government Departments on ensuring that they pay a fair price for milk that they procure.

David Heath: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
	My predecessor, the right hon. Member for South East Cambridgeshire (Mr Paice), wrote to all Government Departments on 27 July 2012 to establish the position in central Government on the procurement of milk. Responses were clear that Government Departments are not directly involved in milk purchasing. Private companies are contracted to provide catering services to staff and each contract must meet the mandatory Government Buying Standards (GBS) for Food and Catering Services. Companies declined to say how much they pay their suppliers for milk on commercial sensitivity grounds.

Infrastructure

Simon Hughes: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what his policy is on the award of Government contracts for infrastructure projects to companies domiciled in tax havens.

Francis Maude: Through our membership of the European Union and as a signatory to international agreements, our contracting authorities are required to treat all suppliers covered by those agreements on an equal footing with UK suppliers. These agreements do not provide grounds under which contracting authorities can exclude suppliers for being lawfully domiciled in tax havens.

Migration

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what level of reduction in UK net migration from 2010 to 2011 would have been regarded by the Office for National Statistics as statistically significant.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated September 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to respond to your question concerning what level of reduction in UK net migration from 2010 to 2011 would have been regarded by the Office for National Statistics as statistically significant (121381).
	On August 30, ONS published provisional estimates of Long Term International Migration (LTIM) for 2011. Estimates from the International Passenger Survey (IPS) are the main component used to calculate LTIM. As with all survey estimates, they carry a degree of uncertainty due to sampling variation. The uncertainty around the IPS based migration estimates was expressed as a confidence interval in this publication. A confidence interval provides an upper and lower limit in which we would expect the true value to lie with 95% probability.
	These confidence intervals were published alongside inflow, outflow and net flow estimates. The change seen in the net migration estimates from 252,000 in 2010 to 216,000 (provisional) in 2011 was described as not statistically significant. This is because the confidence intervals for the IPS component for each estimate overlapped and the difference between the figures could have been due to sampling variation.
	The 2011 provisional estimate for net migration would have needed to be below 180,000, for ONS to regard the change from 2010 as statistically significant. The upper limit of the confidence interval associated with an estimate below 180,000 is less than the lower limit of the 2010 estimate, so the confidence intervals do not overlap and the difference between the two estimates is considered to be statistically significant.

Public Consultation

David Hamilton: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office under what conditions the Government do not count an individual's submission to a formal Government consultation because it has been generated or handled through a campaign organisation.

Oliver Letwin: The Government do not have a policy on the conditions in which the Government will not count an individual's submission to a formal Government consultation because it has been generated or handled through a campaign organisation.
	Responses to consultation are carefully considered and the points made in them are fully taken into account regardless of whether a particular point is made only in one response or in a number of identical responses.

Voluntary Work

David Blunkett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what plans he has to use the database of those who volunteered for roles as part of the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics to keep them in touch with volunteering opportunities; and what plans he has to provide support for them to continue to volunteer.

Nick Hurd: The Government are keen to use the momentum created by both Games to encourage even more people to continue volunteering. We are now in discussion with LOCOG, who own the database for the majority of volunteers, about how to best keep them engaged. We are backing frontline organisations to support existing and new volunteering opportunities, as well as investing in infrastructure and reducing bureaucracy to better connect volunteers to these opportunities.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Constituencies

John Spellar: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the cost was of the constituency boundary review being conducted by the Boundary Commission for England in each of the last six months.

Chloe Smith: The cost of the constituency boundary review being conducted by the Boundary Commission for England under the terms of the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 in each of the last six months is as follows:
	
		
			 Boundary Commission for England Cost 
			 February 2012 27,651.74 
			 March 2012 348,398.68 
			 April 2012 104,405.84 
			 May 2012 96,133.52 
			 June 2012 189,370.32 
			 July 2012 255,357.11

Constituencies

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the cost was to the Boundary Commission of the Sixth General Review for each month in which it ran.

Chloe Smith: The monthly costs of the constituency boundary review being conducted by the four Boundary Commissions since its formal commencement on 4 March 2011, under the terms of the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011, are as follows:
	
		
			  Boundary Commission for England Boundary Commission for Wales Boundary Commission for Scotland Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland 
			 March 2011 129,923.57 60,452.69 13,071 6,500 
			 April 2011 57,662.68 2,851.47 13,636 23,313.58 
			 May 2011 86,174.72 870.19 19,199 10,453.47 
			 June 2011 149,474.79 27,971.91 15,317 2,513.75 
			 July 2011 74,885.71 93,051.33 20,639 16,858.79 
			 August 2011 446,316.95 30,751.33 15,730 9,042.46 
			 September 2011 508,754.47 26,375.56 25,002 25,252.94 
			 October 2011 336,247.05 (1)37,904.22 74,885 134,634.58 
			 November 2011 356,844.30 30,363.57 16,977 20,542.73 
			 December 2011 243,817.81 16,344.73 18,647 18,075.10 
			      
			 January 2012 131,410.06 67,243.68 61,568 40,342.34 
			 February 2012 27,651.74 32,246.77 19,276 16,496.83 
			 March 2012 348,398.68 123,588.98 27,496 46,048.84 
			 April 2012 104,405.84 22,685.45 12,496 29,986.88 
			 May 2012 96,133.52 19,060.50 12,171 21,058.59 
			 June 2012 189,370.11 35,764 13,898 24,654,27 
			 July 2012 255,357.11 20,881.40 23,455 17,687.92 
			 (*) Figure shown as credit due to accounting adjustments. 
		
	
	All four boundary commissions incurred some expenditure on preparatory work prior to the formal commencement of the Review on 4 March 2011.
	The above figure, other than that for the Boundary Commission for Wales, includes some expenditure not directly attributable to the current parliamentary boundary review. A further breakdown is not available

Constituencies

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the cost to the Boundary Commission of consulting the public on implementing the provisions of the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011.

Chloe Smith: While certain expenses—for example, venue hire—can clearly be ascribed to 'consultation', the boundary review process principally concerns developing proposals for consultation, and the subsequent refinement of those proposals in light of consultation responses. As such the commissions do not categorise their activities and expenditure in a way that would allow a meaningful estimate to be provided that is distinct from the overall estimated costs of the current review, since its formal commencement on 4 March 2011 under the terms of the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011, are as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			 (a) The Boundary Commission for Scotland 936,671 
			 (b) The Boundary Commission for Wales 1,290,240 
			 (c) The Boundary Commission for England 6,598,382 
		
	
	
		
			 (d) The Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland 978,000 
		
	
	All four boundary commissions incurred some expenditure on preparatory work prior to the formal commencement of the review on 4 March 2011.
	The above figures, other than that for the Boundary Commission for Wales, include some expenditure not directly attributable to the current parliamentary boundary review. A further breakdown is not available.

Constituencies

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much the sixth General Review of Electoral Boundaries will cost (a) the Boundary Commission for Scotland, (b) the Boundary Commission for Wales and (c) the Boundary Commission for England and Northern Ireland.

Chloe Smith: Our current estimate for the cost of the boundary reviews being conducted by the four boundary commissions since their formal commencement on 4 March 2011, under the terms of the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011, are as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			 (a) The Boundary Commission for Scotland 936,671 
			 (b) The Boundary Commission for Wales 1,290,240 
			 (c) The Boundary Commission for England 6,598,382 
			 (d) The Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland 978,000 
		
	
	All four boundary commissions incurred some expenditure on preparatory work prior to the formal commencement of the review on 4 March 2011.
	The above figures, other than that for the Boundary Commission for Wales, include some expenditure not directly attributable to the current parliamentary boundary review. A further breakdown is not available.

Lobbying

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 10 July 2012, Official Report, column 160W, on lobbying, what criteria he uses to determine whether a representation is a response to the consultation on introducing a statutory register for lobbyists or correspondence from an interested party; if he will publish a summary of the correspondence received regarding the Government's proposals; and if he will make a statement.

Chloe Smith: The Cabinet Office published a summary of responses to its consultation, "Introducing a Statutory Register of Lobbyists," on 16 July 2012, available from:
	www.official-documents.gov.uk
	and
	www.cabinet-office.gov.uk
	All correspondence directly in response to the consultation was recorded in the summary document either as a separate response or as part of a campaign, and is already in the public domain.
	I have no plans to make a statement on this issue or publish a summary of correspondence, which was not directly in response to the consultation.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Bahamas

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking to assist the government of the Bahamas with tackling the spread of leptospirosis, histoplasmosis, tuberculosis, hepatitis and typhoid.

Alan Duncan: DFID does not have a bilateral aid programme with the Bahamas. The country has however benefited from regional support provided by DFID through the Pan-American Health Organisation to prevent the spread of cholera and other waterborne diseases, including typhoid, in the Caribbean.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking to help alleviate the current displacement situation in Democratic Republic of Congo; and what support her Department is providing to agencies working in that country.

Justine Greening: The UK has been providing significant support to those who have had to leave their homes as a result of violence, ensuring that displaced people have access to safe water, shelter, health care and protection from further attacks. Our support reaches 2.1 million people in the Democratic Republic of Congo each year with emergency assistance. The UK is the largest donor to the Rapid Response to the Movement of Populations mechanism which—by the end of July—had reached more than 368,000 newly displaced people with emergency assistance.
	We remain extremely concerned by the situation facing the population of eastern Congo, and are working closely with the UN and non-governmental organisations to ensure vulnerable people are reached quickly and effectively with essential lifesaving assistance.

Haiti

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions her Department has had with the President of Haiti on the effectiveness of international aid spending in that country.

Alan Duncan: DFID does not have a bilateral aid programme with Haiti, with assistance for reconstruction provided instead through our core contributions to multilateral agencies such as the World Bank, United Nations and European Union. There has been no recent contact between my Department and the President of Haiti, but my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs met Haitian Prime Minister Lamothe in London on 27 July 2012 for discussions that included aid co-ordination and effectiveness.

India

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether the previous Secretary of State for International Development had instructed officials to begin a planning process which would enable the UK to end its bilateral aid programme in India by 2015.

Justine Greening: We are currently discussing the future of our programme with the Government of India.

Members: Correspondence

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when she plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Bury South of 6 September 2012.

Justine Greening: A response to the hon. Member's letter has been sent.

Olympic Games 2012

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials from her Department used the Olympic Route Network for travel for official purposes during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Alan Duncan: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport will publish details of Government use of tickets and hospitality in the autumn. This will include the use of transport services which operated on the Olympic or Paralympic route networks.

Departmental Contracts

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the name is of each company with which her Department has a contract; what the monetary value of each such contract is; and what is provided to her Department under the terms of the contract.

Alan Duncan: A copy of all live contracts centrally let by DFID's Procurement Group will be released to the House of Commons Library. This does not include details of small value contracts which have been awarded by country offices overseas as the collection of this information would incur disproportionate cost.
	As requested, the list contains the name of each supplier with whom we have a contract; the monetary value of each and the title of each contract which indicates what is provided to DFID under the terms of the contract. Further information on contracts including detailed terms of reference information is available at Contracts Finder:
	http://www.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk/?site=1000&lang=en
	the Cabinet Office source of information on new procurement opportunities, tender documents and contracts for central Government over £10,000.

Departmental Contracts

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what her Department's policy is on taking into account when assessing tenders submitted for departmental contracts the (a) apprenticeship schemes, (b) policies on employment of paid interns and (c) policies of payment of at least the living wage of each bidding company.

Alan Duncan: Each tender is assessed against criteria deemed to be relevant for that particular contract. The specific factors referred to would be considered where appropriate but are not routinely assessed in every tender.
	The majority of tender competitions carried out by centrally by the Department for International Development are for aid and international development services that are delivered overseas. Where DFID engages suppliers to provide corporate services in the UK (e.g. facilities management services) DFID uses centrally let Government Procurement Service (GPS) contracts put in place by the Cabinet Office wherever possible.

Syria

Anas Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  whether her Department has made an assessment of rates of sexual and gender-based violence among Syrian refugees in (a) Jordan, (b) Lebanon and (c) Turkey;
	(2)  whether her Department has made an assessment of the availability of services for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence among Syrian refugees in (a) Jordan, (b) Lebanon and (c) Turkey;
	(3)  if her Department will take steps to respond to and prevent sexual and gender-based violence against Syrian refugees in (a) Jordan, (b) Lebanon and (c) Turkey.

Alan Duncan: We have received consistent informal reports of sexual and gender-based violence in Syria, including against women and girls and pregnant women. Over 75% of Syrian refugees receiving humanitarian assistance in neighbouring countries are women and children, many who have experienced significant trauma. We understand from our humanitarian partners that Syrian refugees are increasingly at risk of sexual abuse, domestic violence and early and coerced marriage.
	In Lebanon and Jordan, humanitarian agencies are working with authorities and local organisations to make more services available for those in need of help and to improve the system for referral of cases of sexual violence to clinics, counsellors and other services providers. Agencies are also making more information available to vulnerable people about the risks of abuse and the services, including counselling, available to help affected refugees. In Turkey, most Syrian refugees are housed in camps, and we understand the UN intends to increase monitoring of vulnerable groups to protect them from sexual and gender-based violence and coordinate medical assistance for survivors.
	The UK is providing £14 million to assist Syrian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq. Specifically, the UK will provide clinical care and counselling for Syrian refugees in Jordan who have survived sexual assault (including men, women and children). An additional 1,800 particularly vulnerable Syrian women will receive financial support to help mitigate potential risks of exploitation.

Yemen

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what timeframe she has set for the delivery of the £196 million funding pledged at the last Friends of Yemen meeting.

Alan Duncan: The UK pledged £196 million at the recent Yemen Donor Conference meeting. This funding covers the period of three financial years from 2012-13 to 2014-15.

Yemen

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much of the £196 million pledged by the Government at the last Friends of Yemen meeting will be directed towards (a) improving sanitation, (b) food aid, (c) Government transition and (d) security.

Alan Duncan: The pledged £196 million will provide support to Yemen in four main areas: Wealth Creation; Governance; Humanitarian Relief and addressing Poverty, Hunger and Vulnerability.
	We have published provisional figures against these four areas in our Operational Plan which covers three financial years from 2012-13 to 2014-15:
	Wealth Creation: £29,425,000
	Governance and Security: £13,456,000
	Humanitarian Relief: £72,000,000
	Poverty Hunger and Vulnerability: £81,100,000.
	Our work across a number of sectors including sanitation, food aid and political transition is likely to cut across these four areas.
	The detail of our programme is still being finalised and we cannot accurately breakdown our planned spend by sector.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Children: Day Care

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effect on child carers of his welfare reform plans.

Steve Webb: In answering this question we have taken the term child carers to mean children who undertake caring duties for adults or children.
	We are committed to reforming the welfare system to make it fairer, more affordable and to tackle poverty and welfare dependency, while continuing to support the most vulnerable in society.
	Universal credit will radically restructure and simplify the way in which benefits are calculated. It will reduce the number of benefits and the number of agencies that people have to interact with. This will make it easier for customers to understand their entitlements and easier to administer the system. There will be protection for those claimants whose universal credit would be less than under the current system where their circumstances remain the same.
	Children under 18 will not normally be able to claim universal credit in their own right. Families that include a disabled person will be entitled to one of two additional elements which will be based on an assessment that the person cannot reasonably be expected to look for work. This will ensure that we continue to target support on the most severely disabled people.
	Support generally for young carers is provided by local authority social services. The Department for Education provides local authorities with £2.2 billion of funding for services for vulnerable children and families. Currently £1.5 million is being provided to The Children's Society and The Royal Princess Trust for Carers over the next two years to support local authorities and voluntary and community organisations to encourage children and adult services to work together.
	The support currently available should mean that young carers should not have to carry out a regular and substantial amount of caring for a disabled person. The aim, as set out in the Government's recently published Carers Strategy, is that support for young carers should focus on achieving their educational and employment potential—and having the same opportunities as other young people—without assuming that they should always be a carer.

Child Maintenance

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of Child Support Agency cases which are being managed off the main computer system; and what the likely timescale is for such cases to be transferred to the new Child Maintenance Service.

Steve Webb: As of June 2012 there were 104,600 cases being managed off the main computer systems.
	This information is routinely published in the Child Support Agency Quarterly Summary of Statistics which can be found at the following link:
	http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/child_support/2012/csa_qtr_summ_stats_jun2012.pdf
	The Government are currently consulting on the proposed closure of existing scheme child maintenance cases, which include those currently managed off the main computer systems.
	The consultation "Supporting separated families; securing children's futures" was published on 13 July. The consultation proposes that cases managed off system are closed first, and that all existing CSA cases should close gradually, over a three year period.

Child Maintenance

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency are using the statutory services of the Child Support Agency; and how many such people's cases are maintained off the main computer system.

Steve Webb: In the quarter to June 2012, there were 2,100 cases on the main computer systems where the parent with care resides in Kilmarnock and Loudoun parliamentary constituency.
	It is not possible to allocate cases administered off system to a parliamentary constituency as the management information for these cases does not contain geographical information.
	However, it is possible to approximate the number of cases in this parliamentary constituency which are maintained off the main systems by using the proportion of the total number of on-system cases in this area and the total number of cases maintained off the main systems.
	Using this methodology, there were approximately 40 cases in the quarter to June 2012 which were maintained off system, where the parent with care resides in Kilmarnock and Loudon parliamentary constituency.

Child Maintenance

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he plans that the current staffing level will be maintained when the Child Maintenance Service is operational.

Steve Webb: To ensure successful delivery of the Child Maintenance Service and high quality service to clients, it is proposed that initially no major changes are made to current staffing levels.
	The Child Maintenance Service is intended to be more efficient than the Child Support Agency as a result of new operational processes and the new IT system that is being developed. Staffing levels within the Child Maintenance Service will be dependent on how many clients choose to use the service as opposed to making a family-based arrangement, and how many of those use the collection service rather than opting for Direct Pay.

Child Maintenance

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what new steps he proposes that the Child Maintenance Service should take regarding the assessment of non-resident parents who are self-employed.

Steve Webb: The new child maintenance scheme will draw on income tax information provided by HMRC. For self-employed parents who pay child maintenance, this will allow access to all sources of income on their self-assessment records and so allow, through the variations scheme, for these incomes sources to be taken into account. This will prevent parents who pay child maintenance minimising their child maintenance liability by manipulating their sources of income.
	There is always the possibility that some parents who pay child maintenance will not declare all their income to HMRC. Where it becomes apparent this may have happened, the Child Maintenance Service will work more closely with HMRC in jointly investigating cases of possible misrepresentation of income.

Child Maintenance

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether it is his policy that under the new Child Maintenance Service where the non-resident parent refuses to reach what would otherwise be a reasonable private family-based child maintenance agreement resulting in the parent with care applying for the statutory service the (a) parent with care or (b) child should be charged a fee for that process and should have a further proportion of child maintenance deducted from each subsequent payment.

Steve Webb: All applicants to the new statutory Child Maintenance Service will have to pay a £20 application fee.
	The only exceptions to this are applicants who have previously declared themselves to be victims of domestic violence and applicants who are aged 18 or under.
	In England the applicant could either be the parent who pays child maintenance or the person who receives child maintenance. This is generally a parent, and in Scotland may be the child.
	Collection fees will only be payable where the Child Maintenance Service is required to collect maintenance. Where the parent who pays child maintenance pays it directly to the person who receives child maintenance, then no collection fees are payable by either party.
	Full details of the charging proposals are set out in the consultation paper “Supporting separated families; securing children's futures” (CM8399).

Child Maintenance

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the likely effect on the workload of HM Revenue and Customs of his plan that the new Child Maintenance System will automatically base the majority of its child maintenance calculations on information supplied by HM Revenue and Customs; and what estimate he has made of the likely effect on workload where there is a dispute on the income levels of non-resident parents.

Steve Webb: This Department and HMRC have reached agreement about how income information shall be requested and supplied. In most cases, the information will be provided via an electronic interface, thereby avoiding any direct impact on HMRC staff work loads.
	We do not anticipate any impact on HMRC work loads as a result of income disputes. We expect the number of income related disputes in the statutory scheme to fall as a result of the use of HMRC data.

Child Maintenance

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he proposes that there should be a dedicated hotline to the Child Support Maintenance Service for hon. Members when it is fully operational, similar to that of the Child Support Agency.

Steve Webb: There will be dedicated hotlines for the Child Maintenance Service, just as there are currently for the Child Support Agency.

Skills Conditionality

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will commission an evaluation of the skills conditionality process.

Mark Hoban: Skills conditionality processes are under continuous monitoring and review. Official statistics are published on skills conditionality referrals and starts which are available on the Department's website.
	The Department has also commissioned a joint piece of research with the Department for Business Innovation and Skills to understand how the new Skills Strategy introduced in August 2011 is being implemented, The evaluation aims to understand the ways in which Jobcentre Plus, National Careers Service and colleges and skills providers are responding to the new policies including skills conditionality.

Skills Conditionality

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the comparative advantages of the Skills Conditionality Process and the Employability Programme.

Mark Hoban: The Employability Programme was the local branding used for the application of skills conditionality by Wessex Jobcentre Plus District from August 2011 to July 2012, after which the title was changed to Skills Conditionality.

Housing Benefit: Warrington

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of people in Warrington who will be affected by changes to housing benefit.

Steve Webb: No such estimate has been made.

Remploy

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was paid in redundancy payments to employees of Wrexham Remploy when it closed.

Esther McVey: The Wrexham factory has not yet closed. Remploy have confirmed that the estimated total redundancy pay due for the Wrexham employees is approximately £808,000.
	A comprehensive package of support is available for all disabled individuals being made redundant as a result of the Wrexham factory closure.
	The Government have made £8 million available to fund the delivery of this support across the UK. This package will be available for individuals to access for up to 18 months following redundancy to help individuals to make the transition from working at Remploy to mainstream employment.

Remploy

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the oral answer of 10 September 2012, Official Report, column 11, on Remploy, what proportion of workers from recently closed Remploy factories have since gained alternative employment.

Esther McVey: As per my answer on 10 September, in the short period since closure, 35 ex-Remploy employees have immediately found jobs.
	You will be aware of the comprehensive package of support offered to Remploy workers which is available for 18 months following redundancy, to help disabled individuals to make the transition from working at Remploy to mainstream employment. This package includes personalised support and the Government have made £8 million available to fund this delivery across the UK.

State Retirement Pensions

Kwasi Kwarteng: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his policy is on the difference between the age at which women are entitled to guaranteed minimum pension and the age at which they are entitled to claim state pension; and by what means women who are entitled to guaranteed minimum pension but are not yet in recipient of state pension can claim their entitlement.

Steve Webb: The equalisation of women's state pension age which was legislated for in the Pensions Act 1995 commenced from April 2010. Subsequent legislation, including the Pensions Act 2011, will increase state pension age for both men and women to counter-balance the continuing increases in life expectancy and the pressure they place on the state pension system.
	However, the age at which women become entitled to the guaranteed minimum pension remains at 60. We have no plans to change this as it would interfere with an individual's accrued rights under their occupational pension scheme. As a result, some women may be able to claim their guaranteed minimum pension before they reach state pension age. Their occupational pension scheme will be able to provide them with details on how to claim.

Universal Credit

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to change the capacity of his Department's workforce in order to manage any additional advisory roles to be fulfilled in the lead up to the introduction of universal credit; and how many additional staff he plans to employ to administer the credit prior to its introduction.

Mark Hoban: It is anticipated that roles required to support the introduction of universal credit and to administer the credit will be resourced from within the Department for Work and Pensions and Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs current headcount and that the challenges around resources are considered manageable. Discussions are still ongoing with local authorities regarding their future role in the delivery of universal credit.
	Before universal credit is introduced across the country in October 2013 we will test it through a Pathfinder approach starting in April 2013. At this stage for Pathfinder, we do not anticipate significant increases in advisory roles. The workforce requirement for Pathfinder is currently being reviewed as part of a wider re-planning exercise. The workforce requirement when known will be handled primarily through the transfer of staff from existing operational areas.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether former owner-occupiers who sold their home and pay rent to remain in the same property will be eligible for support with housing costs under universal credit.

Steve Webb: To be eligible for the housing costs element in universal credit a claimant living in rented accommodation must have a legal obligation or a duty to make payments on a commercial basis to a landlord under a tenancy agreement or licence to occupy.
	A claimant will be treated as not liable for housing costs where the liability is to a close relative living in the same property or to a company or trust owned or administered by such a relative. They will also be treated as not liable for housing costs where the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions determines that the liability was contrived for the purposes of obtaining benefit.
	As long as these tests are satisfied, the claimant will be eligible for support.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department has made an estimate of the proportion of universal credit which will be paid to (a) men and (b) women.

Mark Hoban: Universal credit will be paid to a household unit. It will be for the individual or the family in each household to decide which bank account their universal credit is to be paid into.
	We are unable therefore to estimate the proportion of universal credit that will be paid to men and women.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department has made an estimate of the effect of the introduction of universal credit on the total number of hours worked in the economy.

Mark Hoban: Universal credit represents a fundamental and structural change to the welfare system.
	The impact assessment estimates that that there will be a reduction in the region of 300,000 workless households.
	In addition, universal credit will increase the incentive to increase hours of work and progress through the labour market by reducing the proportion of any increase in earnings which is lost due to tax or reduced benefit payments.

Universal Credit

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of working families in (a) each parliamentary constituency, (b) Scotland and (c) nationally whose net benefit income will fall after the introduction of universal credit.

Mark Hoban: A package of transitional protection is being developed for recipients of legacy benefits and tax credits that are required to move to universal credit without having had a change of circumstances. This will ensure that those people will not receive less as a result of their move to universal credit.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether households with liability for the cost of two homes, where this could not reasonably be avoided, will be able to receive the housing component of universal credit in respect of both for a limited period of time; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Webb: The housing costs element in universal credit will normally be available with respect to only one property at any one time. However, there will be exceptions to this rule where:
	the claimant has left their normal home through fear of violence but intends to return;
	necessary adaptations required by a person with a disability delay the move to a new home; or
	the claimant's household is so large that the housing authority has had to house them in two properties.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether households in which an occupant has died will be protected from rent restrictions under the housing component of universal credit for 12 months following the death; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Webb: The majority of benefits in the current system are reassessed immediately upon the death of a member of the household, although child tax credit, carer's allowance and the carer premium are unaffected for a period of eight weeks. Housing benefit remains unchanged for a period of 52 weeks where the death would affect the room allocation. It should be noted, however, that the death of a spouse or, in many cases, the death of a child would not affect the rent position.
	Under universal credit the whole of the “maximum amount” will remain unaffected for a period of three months following the death of a member of the household. This includes the full housing element and any additions that were payable in respect of the person who is deceased.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions under what circumstances, including (a) vulnerability and (b) rent arrears, the housing component of universal credit will be paid directly to a household's landlord.

Steve Webb: As part of the transition to universal credit, claimants will receive the single monthly payment which will contain an element payable for rent.
	We recognise that some claimants may need additional help to budget, particularly during the transitional period. As a first step, claimants will be offered budgeting support products and services. Where it is evident that a claimant cannot manage a single monthly payment effectively an alternative payment arrangement will be considered. This could include the payment of housing costs direct to the landlord.
	The Direct Payment Demonstration projects have been set up to help inform the development of the criteria for determining when it would be appropriate to make a payment direct to a landlord, therefore the detailed process is still being developed.

Universal Credit

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions who the lead IT supplier is for the universal credit project.

Mark Hoban: We are working with a consortium of IT providers:
	Accenture;
	BT;
	Capgemini;
	Hewlett Packard; and
	IBM.

Universal Credit

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many programme directors the universal credit project has had since its inception.

Mark Hoban: The universal credit programme has had two programme directors since its inception. The programme was initially led by Chris Hayes, and Malcolm Whitehouse as appointed to the role in August 2011.

Universal Credit: Warrington

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to ensure that people in Warrington making claims for universal credit under the pilot scheme who do not have access to the internet are able to pursue their claims.

Steve Webb: The main route to access universal credit will be through online channels. This will free up more adviser time to deliver valuable face-to-face back-to-work support.
	We realise that not everyone is a confident or capable digital user. We are currently still exploring how we could assist people to use digital technology and we are consulting with partner and representative groups as part of this work.
	We also recognise that there will continue to be a minority of claimants who cannot use online services. For those claimants who really need it we will offer alternative access routes. We expect these alternative access routes to be reserved for the minority who cannot use, or be helped to use, online services. Alternatives will therefore be kept to a minimum.
	Those claiming universal credit in the Pathfinder area will be able to use the following facilities to support their claim:
	(a) Jobcentre support for face to face contact;
	(b) telephony channels; and
	(c) assistance from Pathfinder partner organisations, specifically local authorities.

Work Capability Assessment

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of new employment and support allowance claims were not passed to a contractor for a work capability assessment within the 13 week time-limit target in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Mark Hoban: The following table shows the initial functional assessments of new employment and support allowance (ESA) claims that started between October 2008 and November 2011, the latest data available, by the lapse of time between the date the claimant first contacted DWP and the date their case was referred to Atos for the work capability assessment (WCA) process. Some claimants are automatically treated as having limited capability for work and are not referred for a WCA as a consequence.
	
		
			 ESA initial functional assessments for claims starting between October 2008 and November 2011 by the time between the date of first contact and referral to Atos for the WCA process 
			 Time between date of first contact and referral to Atos Number Proportion (percentage) 
			 Null or not recorded 176,100 9 
			 91 days or less 1,620,300 83 
			 Greater than 91 days 166,500 8 
			 Total 1,962,900 100 
			 Notes: 1. The figures are derived from administrative data held by the Department for Work and Pensions and assessment data provided by Atos Healthcare. 2. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100. Hence totals may not sum exactly. 3. The figures cover initial ESA assessments only. Claims that were “still in progress” at the time the data was extracted have been excluded from the analysis. IB reassessment and repeat ESA assessment figures are excluded. 4. The row “null or not recorded” includes claims closed before assessment complete and claimants who are automatically treated as having limited capability for work and are not referred for a WCA as a consequence. 5. The information in this table is consistent with the information shown in table 1a of the July 2012 ESA WCA publication (excluding claims that were “still in progress”), which can be found at: http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/workingage/index.php?page=esa_wca